Hi Everyone!
This past weekend, while staying with my incredible friends in Misgav, we decided not to sleep. Joking...sort of. Instead, one night, we watched a Keeping the Faith, featuring Ben Stiller.
I was so shocked that I had never even heard of it. Its truly a great romantic comedy. It had a good romance, predictable, though, of course. It also made me laugh out loud, something that very few movies and TV shows are actually capable of. But lastly, it really made me think.
A discussion that we had recently in Jewish history, and one that I had with my Rabbi back home, was interfaith marriage.
Surprise, that's what the movie focuses on...I'll try not to ruin it for you all, even though you can guess the ending 5 minutes in, but one of the main characters, Ben Stiller, is a Rabbi. He begins seeing a non-Jewish woman, secretly. She isn't particularly religious at all, but she is in no way a Jew.
Looking at interfaith marriage, I'm always stuck. I want to say that it's ok if one of the parties is non-Jew if they aren't otherwise religious, and as long as they raise their kids Jewish. But at the same time, I've always loved a good love story. Therefore, it's hard for me to restrict someone else's marriage if it really is true love. Quite a dilemma.
Watching this movie, though, the audience really sees a wonderful and happy love begin to bloom. If he was any other Jew, I would say, "go for it!" (I am a little bias though, she's one of my favorite actresses.) But he's a Rabbi. He's a role model to his congregation and an example. I'm not sure how comfortable I would be if my Rabbi was married to a non-Jew.
Personally, my congregation in Pittsburgh has a beautiful, home-y feel to it. Not only in the sense that I'm comfortable there, but in that everyone's family is yours. When I went to dinner with the Rabbi, we had a nice discussion with his wife and sons, over a lovey home-cooked, Jewish-styled meal that his wife prepared.
I honestly don't know if I would want to belong to a congregation where I couldn't enjoy that same luxury with my Rabbi's family.
It just really made me think...and I'm still thinking. I highly recommend Keeping the Faith for a great comedy, romance, and good intellectual debate. Like really, watch it. It's so good.
Have a great week everyone!
Shoshana :)
PS. Shout-out to Rabbi Gibson, Rabbi Symons, Sara and your families :)
This past weekend, while staying with my incredible friends in Misgav, we decided not to sleep. Joking...sort of. Instead, one night, we watched a Keeping the Faith, featuring Ben Stiller.
I was so shocked that I had never even heard of it. Its truly a great romantic comedy. It had a good romance, predictable, though, of course. It also made me laugh out loud, something that very few movies and TV shows are actually capable of. But lastly, it really made me think.
A discussion that we had recently in Jewish history, and one that I had with my Rabbi back home, was interfaith marriage.
Surprise, that's what the movie focuses on...I'll try not to ruin it for you all, even though you can guess the ending 5 minutes in, but one of the main characters, Ben Stiller, is a Rabbi. He begins seeing a non-Jewish woman, secretly. She isn't particularly religious at all, but she is in no way a Jew.
Looking at interfaith marriage, I'm always stuck. I want to say that it's ok if one of the parties is non-Jew if they aren't otherwise religious, and as long as they raise their kids Jewish. But at the same time, I've always loved a good love story. Therefore, it's hard for me to restrict someone else's marriage if it really is true love. Quite a dilemma.
Watching this movie, though, the audience really sees a wonderful and happy love begin to bloom. If he was any other Jew, I would say, "go for it!" (I am a little bias though, she's one of my favorite actresses.) But he's a Rabbi. He's a role model to his congregation and an example. I'm not sure how comfortable I would be if my Rabbi was married to a non-Jew.
Personally, my congregation in Pittsburgh has a beautiful, home-y feel to it. Not only in the sense that I'm comfortable there, but in that everyone's family is yours. When I went to dinner with the Rabbi, we had a nice discussion with his wife and sons, over a lovey home-cooked, Jewish-styled meal that his wife prepared.
I honestly don't know if I would want to belong to a congregation where I couldn't enjoy that same luxury with my Rabbi's family.
It just really made me think...and I'm still thinking. I highly recommend Keeping the Faith for a great comedy, romance, and good intellectual debate. Like really, watch it. It's so good.
Have a great week everyone!
Shoshana :)
PS. Shout-out to Rabbi Gibson, Rabbi Symons, Sara and your families :)
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