Kosher Movies

As a high school student in A.B. Davis High School in Mount Vernon, New York, I took two years of Spanish. Much of the second year was taken up with the complexities of the subjunctive tense, about which I never could gain mastery. As a result, my marks over four consecutive marking periods were 50, 55, 60, 65, until I took the New York Regents at the end of the year. The Regents Exam was the state- mandated exam that separated the men from the boys. If you passed the Regents with a good grade, the meant that you really knew your stuff. In the days leading up to the Regents, our teacher gave us periodic exams, which I usually failed. During one of the exams, I looked up from my desk and saw perhaps the brightest student in the class use a cheat sheet. While I struggled to pass, he took a short cut to success. His report card was filled with “A”s while mine had “F”s.  I imagined a scary future: will he be doing this in medical school as well ?

But then the Regents came and I got in the 90s because there were no subjunctive tense questions on the exam. The teacher thought I cheated but couldn’t prove it so he had to give me an “A” for the last report card period. The whole experience reminded me that honesty ultimately pays, if not immediately, then in the long run. Honesty is  the heart of the matter in Shattered Glass.

Shattered Glass is a story ostensibly about journalism and its commitment to truthful reportage.  An early scene in the film depicts Stephen Glass, a successful journalist, sharing his wisdom with an avid group of high school students who may aspire to be writers one day. Glass’s presentation is warm, infectious, and devoid of egotism. He writes for The New Republic, the “in-flight magazine of Air Force One,” and tells his young fans that when you write for such an influential magazine, “your work gets read by people that matter.” Surely this is a heady job, but he cautions the students that reporters have to be responsible for what they write and there is more to the job than simply getting your own name into print. Journalism ultimately is about the pursuit of truth, and that is what makes it important.

All this is preamble for an account of deception and lies. As the movie unfolds, we see Stephen fabricating story after story in a working environment where fact-checking is critical. Because he is an entertaining presence at staff meetings, he ingratiates himself with his fellow employees, who are unsuspecting of his ethics. When an internet magazine uncovers the deception, Stephen’s imaginary world falls apart. He has spun a web of lies from which he cannot extricate himself, and he begins blaming others instead of accepting responsibility for his actions.

Shattered Glass is a powerful morality lesson depicting what transpires when we lack integrity, when there is no respect for truth. The Ethics of the Fathers tells us that one of the pillars upon which the world stands is truth (Avot 1:18). Without that essential element, societies cannot exist. The film also presents the consequences of losing a good name: loss of job, loss of credibility. Our Sages remind us that one’s good name is the most important possession we have. Rabbi Shimon says: “There are three crowns—the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of kingship, but the crown of a good name surpasses them all (Avot 4:17).” Furthermore, we see how the pursuit of fame is ephemeral. The more one pursues it, the more it eludes him. Countless statements in the Talmud reinforce this notion: “He who seeks fame loses his reputation (Avot 1:13);” “A desire for honor removes a man from the world (Avot 4:28);” “Do not desire honor (Avot 6:5).” Finally, the Talmud explicitly tells us that we should always attribute the source when we quote another’s statement: “Whoever reports a saying in the name of its originator brings deliverance to the world, as it says, And Esther told the king in the name of Mordechai (Megillah 15a).

Finally Shattered Glass provides an example of the adage in The Ethics of the Fathers that tells us “Whoever desecrates the Name of Heaven in secret, they will exact punishment from him in public (Avot 4:5).” Stephen Glass is a liar, a distorter of truth in order to promote his own image. In the end, his deception is revealed in a public way, not only in the news media but in the film that is cleverly titled Shattered Glass.

Purchase this movie from Amazon.com.

When my wife, of blessed memory, passed away over 20 years ago, I felt totally lost. It was hard for me to imagine living without her. There was a temptation to withdraw from society, to seek solace in memories and to immerse oneself in work to dull the emotional pain. However, the Torah has a different view of the aftermath of losing a beloved spouse. While it is impossible to recreate the past, the Bible clearly tells us it is not good for man to be alone. Life is meant to be shared and the Talmud openly instructs the surviving spouse to remarry even into one’s old age. To be alone as the years advance is not what God wants. The Visitor reminds us of the emptiness of living alone and suggests the remedies that can keep us engaged in life.

The Visitor is the story of Walter Vale, a disillusioned college professor who has recently lost his beloved wife of many years. Since her death he has become even more reclusive than before and solitude is his preferred state. His quiet and predictable world unravels, however, when two illegal immigrants, a white male from Syria and a black woman from Senegal, mistakenly take up residence in his Manhattan apartment. At first he wants them to leave, but recognizing their vulnerability in being sent out at night to find new lodgings, he invites them to stay. Their sojourn in his apartment lasts many days during which a deep friendship grows between him and his tenants.

Walter develops an interest in hand drumming, which is recognized by his tenant Tarek , a Syrian immigrant who is an accomplished drummer. Tarek teaches Walter some techniques which enable him to play the djembe reasonably well. This interest is drumming captivates Walter, indirectly propelling him towards more human connections. He plays with a drum circle in Central Park and shares the rhythms with people of varied cultures. The drum represents a kind of communal heartbeat which links all men together, and Walter breaks out of his aloneness to join the family of mankind.

The story takes a tragic turn when Tarek is picked up by the police and is placed in a Queens detention center. Tarek’s mother comes from Michigan to visit his son in New York since she has not heard from him in a while. When she discovers that he is incarcerated and may be deported, Walter intervenes and hires an immigration lawyer to help. In spite of his best efforts, Tarek is deported, and his mother decides to leave the States to go to Syria to be with her son. Although Tarek is likely to have a grim future, Walter has been transformed by his friendship with Tarek, Zainab,  and Tarek’s mother. He has moved from being a solitary man to a man who wants to connect with other people. The last scene of the film depicts Walter in an underground subway station playing the djembe, making a very loud drum sound, which metaphorically expresses Walter’s new heartfelt approach to life.

Our Sages tell us “not to separate from the community (Avot 2:5).” It is spiritually dangerous to be alone. Solitude can lead to depression and an unhealthy preoccupation with oneself. Therefore, it is good to be involved with others and to feel the distress of others; for one who feels another’s pain shares it with him and, in a sense, lessens the emotional burden of the sufferer. Walter’s attempt to help another makes him into a better man, a man who is alive to himself and to others. Moreover, the Torah tells us in many places to take care of the stranger, the one who is most defenseless in society, for we were once strangers in the land as well. This empathy for the outsider is a hallmark of a Torah personality; and Walter, a very decent man, becomes an even better man when he understands the plight of the stranger and does something to alleviate the stranger’s problem. By helping others, he helps himself.

Purchase a copy of this movie from Amazon.

There is a scene somewhere in the middle of this film that captures the essence of disability. The central character is immobilized on a bench while a fly perches on his nose. He cannot swat it nor can he tell anyone else to bat it away. Finally, it flies away and there is a sense of relief. The insect is a little irritant, yet it looms large in the face of an absolute inability to rid oneself of it.

When I turned 60, I began to realize that I, too, could not always rid myself of bodily pain or discomfort. It takes time and mental effort to come to terms with a changing body. I experienced little aches and pains, my daily run became more challenging, and I knew that I could no longer be casual about my health. A sense of mortality became present in my life.

This sense of mortality can paralyze someone or spur him on to making every day count, by savoring the moment and appreciating the beauty of everyday miracles. The roadmap is unclear. It is not a comfortable realization to know that one is disabled physically, to know that one is no longer in control of his body. This difficult and painful epiphany is at the heart of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

The film’s opening titles are placed against a backdrop of medical x-rays, foreshadowing the serious medical condition of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the former editor of Elle magazine in France. The movie begins with him waking up from a coma after having suffered a stroke. We see things from his perspective. Everything is in and then out of focus. He sees doctors and nurses and tries to talk to them. We hear what is going on in his mind and we share his frustration and disappointment when he realizes that no one hears him. The doctor informs him that he has a rare condition called “locked-in syndrome,” which prevents him from moving anything other than one of his eyes. This ability to blink becomes Jean-Dominique’s way to communicate with the outside world, and the doctor is optimistic about making progress. But, in spite of the doctor’s upbeat assessment, this is depressing news to Jean-Do, as he is affectionately called by his friends.

Realizing that he is unable to communicate to family, he profoundly regrets some of his past actions or inactions. To the mother of his three children whom he never married, he thinks: “I can never make amends.” To the friend who spent many years in a foreign prison and who calls him when he is released, he wonders” “Why didn’t I call him back?”

His friend, who has suffered four years of incarceration, in a brief visit tells him: “Hold fast to the human inside you. You’ll survive. That’s what I came to tell you.” This conversation stays with him and Jean-Do begins to understand that, in spite of his paralysis, he can still live in his imagination and in his memory, two parts of his life that are free and unrestricted by physical disability.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is an unusual and powerful film. On the surface, it is about a person who suffers a stroke, which leaves him unable to speak or to move his body. In a more universal sense, the film is about the plight of the disabled as seen from the point of view of the disabled person. The first half-hour graphically depicts his realization of his paralyzed state and his initial efforts to communicate to those around him.

All of us have seen handicapped people, but the inner struggle that goes on inside the mind of the handicapped is largely unknown to us. We can sympathize, but we cannot really understand the overwhelming emotional darkness and isolation of one who lives daily with physical challenges. Now, through this film, we get a glimmer of understanding about life lived with physical limitations. Furthermore, it reminds us of the blessings Jews say every morning n which they thank God for the fact that each part of the body is working. We thank God that we can see, that we can walk, that we can go to the bathroom and relieve ourselves. No aspect of our physical life is to be taken for granted.

In this sense, the movie is an instructive teaching tool. It compels the viewer, through its vivid and naturalistic imagery, to be thankful each day for being ambulatory, for possessing the ability to speak and to communicate freely with others.

When a dear friend of mine would be asked how he was doing, he always responded, “Thank God, fantastic.” He did this because he truly felt thankful for the everyday miracles with which he was blessed. Watching The Diving Bell and the Butterfly will make you appreciate life more. Do the math and count your blessings.

Purchase this movie from Amazon.