Shalom Everyone,

As we begin this new year, I’ve been considering what kind of Adult Education I’d like to teach this spring. One of the professors at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Dr. Wendy Zierler, used to teach a class on movies and midrash. Unfortunately, she taught this class at the New York City campus (I attended the Cincinnati campus), a few years after I was ordained. So I was never able to take the full course, which I would have loved (since movies were my passion long before rabbinic school and text study was my favorite part of rabbinic school). I have, however, been fortunate enough to take parts of this class with her at various rabbinic conventions, and she recently published a book titled, Movies and Midrash, that I’m going to use to bring these discussions to us. My class will be called, “Reel Time with Rabbi Todd.”

We’re going to start this year with two truly wonderful films about reality and God, The Truman Show and Stranger than Fiction. These will be our February and March discussions. We’ll then move onto two more difficult films about memory and suffering, Memento (a personal favorite), and A Serious Man in April and May. Class will be on the last Tuesday of the month at Temple at 7:00 pm, February 25, March 25, April 29, and May 27. I may let you Zoom in for the discussions (though I’d rather they be in person). Please let me know if you’d only be able to join over Zoom.

Even if you’ve seen these movies in the past, I am going to ask that you rewatch them before our class. You can watch them on your own, or you can join me at my home for a screening of the film on the Saturday before class. So, 7:00 pm at my house, February 22, March 22, April 26, and May 24. Popcorn and snacks provided, we’ll likely drink too, but absolutely no talking (about the film anyway) until Tuesday, I’ll want us to have time to think about it.

I truly hope you can join me for these sessions. Hollywood, if you didn’t know, was mostly built by Jews. It should be no surprise to any of us, then, that we can find examples of Judaism, Jewish thought, and Jewish values embedded in so much of what comes out of it.

I’ll see you at the movies!

Rabbi Todd