Chaim Potok was an American author and rabbi. He is best known for his novels about the Modern Orthodox Jewish experience, including 'The Chosen' and 'My Name is Asher Lev'. He was born in the Bronx, New York in 1929 and died in 2002. He wrote several other novels, as well as short stories, essays, and children's books. He was also a professor of philosophy at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles.