Movie day at Machon Miriam: A message of faith
Recently the students at our Spanish-speaking Machon Miriam Jewish conversion program had ‘movie day’, watching the award-winning Israeli movie ‘Ushpizin.’
This clever movie takes the classic Hollywood “Christmas Miracle” movie genre, and transposes it to Israel and makes it about a Sukkot Miracle. The two main characters in the movie are a married couple who were raised as Secular Jews but found religion and became Ultra-Orthodox.
The name of the movie, Ushpizin, is an Aramaic word meaning “visitors.” It specifically refers to biblical ‘visitors’ who visit Sukkahs bringing blessings on those who fulfill this biblical commandment.
The unexpected visitors that arrive in the Sukkah of the newly Ultra-Orthodox couple are far from angelic. Instead, they are a pair of petty criminals who skip out on a weekend furlough from prison and arrive in Jerusalem looking for a place to hide out.
The purpose of showing the movie was to teach a message of faith, particularly through the teachings of R’ Nahman of Breslev. The Jewish value of hospitality, the power of prayer, and, of course, faith, are strongly reflected in the film by the actors.
With everything going on in Israel now, it seemed appropriate to deviate from the usual focus on Jewish law and commandments, and to focus instead on faith and prayer and reliance on God. This positive, lighthearted way of passing on these messages and values was also much appreciated in these challenging times.
