There are many choices that Asher Lev is faced with as he journeys from childhood to manhood. These choices define who Asher is, and what he believes in, as well as shattering the boyhood innocence he once possessed. One of the first choices which alter Asher's life is his decision to visit Yudel Krinsky for the first time (page 69). Although this act might seem miniscule, it was the beginning of a friendship that fostered Asher …showed first 75 words of 424 total…

…showed last 75 words of 424 total…the rules and regulations of the Reb, or of the Torah. He sent out a message that his first love was no longer the Master of the Universe, but rather art. Asher Lev's choices in this novel serve to estrange Asher from the only world he knew growing up, the Jewish community. The take him from being a boy who liked foolish drawings, to a man who would sacrifice anything to do what he loved.