Timbuktu1 wrote:
During a discussion with my son about the Lebanon withdrawal I mentioned the movie you suggested, Beaufort. He said "No way could I handle that, too terrible". I, on the other hand, have found it on netflix and added it to my queue. Can't keep my head in the sand about these things, especially during an election year. Thanks for the recommendation and let's hope only happy movies come out of Israel from now on. BTW, my son was wondering if it had an anti-Israeli bias, as so many thing seem to nowadays. I guess we've come to expect the worst, haven't we?
I would say that Beaufort was a very balanced movie. It made remarkably few political claims -- it truly was focused on the lives of the few soldiers in this remote fort in the last days of the Israeli presence in Lebanon. There was very little debate about the political motivations and consequences of the decision -- these were just terrified young men who wanted to get home. Very moving.
I'll have to take a look for the movie you recommended and add it to my queue! Also, for anyone in the NY area interested in Israeli film, I'll make a plug for the movie "To Die in Jerusalem." Public disclaimer: my cousin is the director
It's showing tomorrow (2/19) at the JCC in Manhattan. It is an excellent film about the devestation left on both sides after a suicide bombing, and the painful, and perhaps hopeless, attempts to find any common ground for communication. Very powerful.
With Passover around the corner, I wanted to share a little bit about my family's seder traditions, and I would love to hear from readers about your own. We tend to have medium size seders -- 15 to 20 -- and go around the table with everyone reading in Hebrew or English, as they are comfortable. There are always wonderful new Haggadot coming out. If you are looking for something with more commentary and more of a scholarly perspective, you can try the new Jewish Publication Society Commentary on the Haggadah.
My family has a longstanding tradition of saying the Four Questions in as many languages as possible. It's a great way to encourage more participation, as everyone gets to show off their language skills, and takes some of the heat off me (often still the youngest at my family's seder, even though I'm thirty!). We have haggadahs in Russian, Spanish, French, and Ladino, but often people who speak other languages have to come up with translations on the spot. So I was thrilled to find Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights, a beautiful little book with the Four Questions in twenty-three languages from around the globe, as well as a brief history of the Jewish community in each of these lands. It's a perfect gift to bring to a seder you're attending, and a great way to keep your own seder interesting (disclaimer: the author is a friend of mine.
For all who are celebrating it, may you have a Happy Passover and a Hag Kasher ve'Sameah.
My family has a longstanding tradition of saying the Four Questions in as many languages as possible. It's a great way to encourage more participation, as everyone gets to show off their language skills, and takes some of the heat off me (often still the youngest at my family's seder, even though I'm thirty!). We have haggadahs in Russian, Spanish, French, and Ladino, but often people who speak other languages have to come up with translations on the spot. So I was thrilled to find Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights, a beautiful little book with the Four Questions in twenty-three languages from around the globe, as well as a brief history of the Jewish community in each of these lands. It's a perfect gift to bring to a seder you're attending, and a great way to keep your own seder interesting (disclaimer: the author is a friend of mine
.For all who are celebrating it, may you have a Happy Passover and a Hag Kasher ve'Sameah.
