The Wedding Plan in New Mexico!

Limited Runs in Abq & SFe: The second film from American-Israeli writer and director Rama Burshtein (Fill the Void), The Wedding Plan is a poignant and funny romantic comedy about love, marriage and faith in life’s infinite possibilities.

A nominee for Best Film at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, the film stars Noa Kooler, Amos Tamam, Oz Zehavi, Irit Sheleg, Ronny Merhavi, Dafi Alpern, Karin Serrouya, Erez Drigues, Oded Leopold, Udi Persi and Jonathan Rozen.

Here is a brief synopsis of the story -

At 32, Michal is finally looking forward to the comfort and security of marriage, when she is blindsided by her fiancé’s decision to call off the wedding with only a month’s notice. Unwilling to return to lonely single life, Michal decides to put her trust in fate and continue with her wedding plans, believing Mr. Right will appear by her chosen date. Confident she will find a match made in heaven, she books a venue, sends out invitations and buys a wedding dress, as her skeptical mother and sister look on with trepidation. 

During Michal’s month-long search for a spouse, she enlists the help of two different matchmakers, goes on a series of disastrous blind dates and finds an unexpected connection with a charming but utterly unsuitable pop star — all while dismissing pleas by concerned friends and family members that she reconsider her risky plan. As the day of the ceremony grows closer and no suitor appears, Michal puts everything on the line to find happiness. 

But Wait! There's More & Better!

Jonathan Chisdes, an independent film critic who reviews Jewish movies at ChizFilm Jewish Movies, has just reviewed The Wedding Plan!

Here is what Jonathan has to say -

The Wedding Plan

For Those Who Like Theology Thrown in with Their Rom Com

“The Wedding Plan,” American-Israeli director Rama Burshtein’s follow-up to her award-winning “Fill the Void,” has been very successful in Israel and is now the midst of its American theatrical run.

While still focusing on insular Israeli Haredi, Burshtein has gone from deep drama to romantic comedy. Serious viewers, however, should not despair. Although a brief plot description—a woman plans a wedding without a groom, hoping one will show up—sounds like it could be a zany comedy filled with ridiculously over-the-top characters and screwball situations, it is nothing of the sort. In fact, the film could actually be seen as a religious meditation on theology and the possibility of miracles.

The movie revolves around Michal (Noa Koler), a religious single woman in her 30s, who despairs of not being married. Although Michal is in many ways a strong, independent woman, she craves love, companionship, and wanting to be part of a respected couple within the community. As she puts it, “I want to invite people for Shabbat rather than always being invited somewhere else,” out of pity. She’s not some delicate, pre-feminist woman who needs a man to take care of her. She can support herself—she makes money with a mobile petting zoo she takes to children’s birthday parties—and she has no qualms about voicing her strong opinions.

Yet perhaps it is this very quality which has put off men—that is, Orthodox men—for all these years. An interesting scene early in the film shows Michal encouraging young girls at a party to show some bravery and pet her snake. One young girl is about to and then is discouraged by the mother who forbids it. Later, when the mother is paying Michal for her services, she suggests to Michal that the reason she is single is that owning a snake makes her indelicate. “Maybe there is a guy who doesn’t want a delicate woman,” Michal suggests. “Nonsense!” says the mother with a tone of absolute certainty in an indisputable fact, “All men want a delicate woman.”

Michal gets engaged, but then her fiancé breaks off their impending marriage; this is the last straw for Michal. She turns to her faith and puts her trust in God. She sets a date for her wedding—the eighth day of Hanukkah—books a hall, picks a menu, buys a dress, sends out invitations. Everything is set to fulfill her dreams of being married to her “bashert”—except for the bashert himself. She trusts that God will provide.

While her faith does her credit, Michal’s friends and family strongly object to this plan of hers. Her mother (Irit Sheleg) even goes so far as to bring in a rabbi to talk her out of it. This is perhaps the most telling scene in the whole film. The rabbi, who one would normally expect to praise extreme religious faith, instead cautions against making bargains with God and “counting on miracles.” Not even rabbis and prophets expect God to give them what they want. The rabbi goes on to express his fears that if God does not provide a groom by the wedding date, Michal’s faith will be destroyed.

But Michal counters that God is a good God and after all the effort she has put into this, it is not too much to expect from God to bring her a husband. After all, she is meeting God far more than half-way.

There is an expression, “The Lord helps those who help themselves.” Michal is not just sitting back, waiting for God to act. She is working with two matchmakers and going on lots of dates that she is being set up on. Some of the men are more promising than others; some are more taken by her than others. But as the deadline for the wedding approaches, everyone begins to question if she really will find the right groom.

One also begins to wonder why being married is so important to Michal—after all, she has no positive married role models in her life. Her sister is in a crazy marriage which is on-again-off-again-on-again, her friend fears dating a Japanese man, the man who runs the wedding hall speaks of his bad marriage, her roommate steals her ex-fiancé. As for a father, there is no reference to one. Not once does anyone declare that they are happily married. But neither does anyone claim to be happily single.

There comes a point—at least for me and, I suspect, most modern viewers—where you might want to reach into the film and give Michal a big shake. “What are you doing? Why is this so damned important to you? Why such a high-pressure time scale? Let it happen naturally. And if it doesn’t, you don’t need a husband to make your life fulfilling!” Yet I realize that this reaction misses the whole point of what Burshtein is getting at. It’s not about whether a woman needs a man to complete herself; Burshtein’s focus is on something completely different—about how to open yourself up to miracles, about what you can expect from God, and how to work with God to guide your life in the right direction.

This is Burshtein’s story and she can tell it her way. (Just as when Michal is telling a story-within-the-story to a date about being stranded on a deserted island and there is no hope of rescue. The date interrupts Michal to ask how she knows there is no hope of rescue and Michal responds, “because I’m telling the story.” She has set the limited parameters. Burshtein, too, has the right to limit her own story.) At one point, Michal declares, “Anything can happen; everything is possible.” This is not only true in the story but, really, it’s true in life too.

An interesting development happens in the middle of the film. On a brief pilgrimage to Ukraine to pray at the tomb of the famous Rabbi Nachman, Michal runs into a famous Israeli secular pop-singer named Yoss (Oz Zehavi). They only talk for about five minutes, but they both recognize the chemistry between them. Here is someone that Michal would never be set up with by a matchmaker yet amazingly they hit it off. Is it possible that Yoss, who later admits that he, too, is looking for a bashert, could be Michal’s groom? Or do their radically different lifestyles make this impossible?

If you’re looking for a typical romantic comedy, this isn’t for you. The laughs aren’t coming every minute. The romance isn’t hot and steamy. However you might feel yourself really drawn in to the story and caring for the character of Michal and whether or not God will provide her a groom. If you are wondering whether someone can have too much faith in God, than you are asking the right question.

Click here to read more of Jonathan's reviews!

So where, Abq Jew hears you ask, and when may one view this prized film? 

Current plans are for

Albuquerque: UA High Ridge 8 

Santa Fe: Violet Crown Cinemas

Friday June 2 thru Thursday June 8

While you're waiting - here is the delightful official trailer!

The Tragedy in Portland

Weeks in Hate: Abq Jew has been deeply troubled by last week's hate attack in Portland, Oregon, The City of Roses. With all of you, his loyal readers, Abq Jew prays for healing.

As Abq Jew blogged in February (see Love Trumps Hate: 24 Hours), he himself has been the target of a hate attack. But that attack, in January, was only online and electronic.

Hateful words were spewed - but that's where the attack both started and stopped. Although he was not greatly concerned at the time, Abq Jew realizes that it might have ended differently.

Since the November election, The New York Times has been publishing a series of articles called This Week in Hate. Many of these articles have been written by editor, columnist (and novelist) Anna North.

Ms North wrote about the attack on Abq Jew on February 9, in Hateful Threats Against a Jewish Blogger. Just a few weeks later, she wrote about two other hate attacks - both of which were far scarier and way more unsettling.

And both of which ended - as well as such attacks can end.

Rajpreet Heir was the subject of Anna North's March 24 article, When Your Commute Includes Hearing ‘You Don’t Belong in This Country’. Her story begins -

Rajpreet Heir was taking the L train to a friend’s birthday party in Manhattan this month when a white man began shouting at her. 

“Do you even know what a Marine looks like?” the man asked Ms. Heir, who is pictured in the video above. “Do you know what they have to see? What they do for this country? Because of people like you.” 

He told Ms. Heir, who is Sikh and was born in Indiana, that he hoped she was sent “back to Lebanon” and said, “You don’t belong in this country.”

Ms Heir made a video about her experience, and later wrote about it for Cosmopolitan. In which she concludes -

It’s tiring to confront racism since no one wants to be told they’re racist. To be successful at school, at work, in life, it’s risky to be viewed as a troublemaker — a humorless person who keeps correcting others. Yet in remaining silent, you can start to feel as if you’re decaying. 

Throughout the day at work, people stopped to talk to me about the video. Their comments were similar to the ones I’d read on the internet but hearing them in real life gave them more weight. Like many people of color, I’d been storing away racist incidents and slights, not allowing myself to realize how much they’d taken a toll on me. To have people in my office, the country, and world at large acknowledge those experiences made me feel understood, happy, lighter. 

I know not everyone is in a situation that allows them to speak out and call out racism without consequence, but I’m glad I decide to tell my story despite my hesitation. Hopefully others will see that this can be the outcome and come forward too.

Ulises Ricoy was the subject of Anna North's March 29 article, ‘I’m an American, First and Foremost’. His story begins -

For Ulises Ricoy, the dean of arts and sciences of Northern New Mexico College in Española, N.M., it happened during a run. It was the day after the election, and he was running near the college campus when a truck with a Confederate flag license plate approached him. 

Two men yelled a racial slur at him and told him to “get out of this country.” They also threw a glass bottle full of liquid, which looked like it might be urine. The bottle struck him in the chest and some of the liquid splashed on his face. 

Prof. Ricoy was born in Austin, Tex., grew up primarily in Mexico, and returned to Texas for high school. There he got used to racial slurs and insults. But in the rural, largely Latino and Native American part of New Mexico where he’s lived for seven years, he’d never experienced anything like that until the incident in November.

Prof Ricoy's story concludes -

While Prof. Ricoy was alone when he was attacked, his colleagues at the college rallied around him when they heard what had happened. The college president even made an announcement condemning the incident. 

Though not everyone talks about it openly, Prof. Ricoy sees a lot of anxiety about the Trump administration in northern New Mexico. Several students who are recent immigrants from Mexico have come to him with their concerns. At the same time, he sees a sense of hope for the future. “That’s just the spirit of migrants,” he said. 

“We know adversity,” he explained. “This is just another challenge.”

The last article* Anna North has posted for This Week in Hate - After Hate Crimes, Victims Get Stuck With the Bill - was on April 26.

Abq Jew had begun to hope that the series had gone on hiatus; that Ms North had run out of material; that the declining number of hate attacks was coming closer and closer to zero.

And then came the tragedy in Portland.

Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche and retired Army Sgt. Ricky Best were killed in the attack, and Micah David-Cole Fletcher is recovering from his injuries.
(FACEBOOK/DVIDS HUB/S RENEE MITCHELL VIA YOUTUBE)

The New York Daily News wrote:

Portland stabbing survivor writes poem about horrific attack: 'I spat in the eye of hate and lived' 

She ran for her life and looked back to see “blood everywhere.” 

That’s what one of the teen girls at the center of the horrific Oregon train stabbing told a local television station. 

“He told us to go back to Saudi Arabia, and he told us we shouldn’t be here, to get out of his country,” Destinee Mangum, 16, told KPTV, referring to white supremacist and alleged killer Jeremy Christian [yimach sh'mo]. 

“He was just telling us that we basically weren’t anything and that we should kill ourselves,” she added.

The Jewish tradition does not teach that hate must be replaced by love; we are all human, and truly loving one another is just too much to ask.

But we should act as if we love one another. 

We should at least treat one another with respect.

Anna North has not run out of material. 

A makeshift memorial in Portland for the two men who were killed on a commuter train while defending two young women against anti-Muslim taunts.
Credit Terray Sylvester/Reuters

Click here for Anna North's latest article in This Week in Hate, 

The Scope of Hate in 2017.

Rosh Hodesh C'est Si Bon

Happy Sivan! Abq Jew doesn't always keep track of the Jewish New Moon. But when he does, it's because of something musically classy like this!

For the record:

• C'est Si Bon (It's So Good) is a French popular song composed in 1947 by Henri Betti with the lyrics by André Hornez. The English lyrics were written in 1950 by Jerry Seelen. Click here for more than you ever wanted to know about the song.
• Jolie Môme (Pretty Babe) French Band brings you the music of Edith Piaf and other renowned singers of the “chanson réaliste” era, with hits from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. The sound of the accordion gives a very Parisian atmosphere and complements the songbird vocals of French-Canadian born Myriam [Phiro]. The band is based in New York City and has made a name for itself in the French jazz, cabaret and vintage communities. Click here for even more.

The fact that it's Rosh Hodesh Sivan can, of course, only mean that the Festival of Shavuot (Weeks) is but days away, traditionally falling on the sixth (and here in חו״ל, also on the seventh) day of Sivan, a full 50 days since the second night of Pesach.

Abq Jew would like to point out that he does not read, write, speak, or in any way comprehend or communicate in French - the language, the land, or the people. But savoir faire? Abq Jew is full of it. At least, that's what he thinks people are saying.

In the meantime - c'est si bon!

Yosemite to Jerusalem

50 Years Ago: On this day, Jews all over the world celebrate. For on this day, fifty years ago, Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel, was reunited.

Video art was projected on the walls of Jerusalem's Old City on May 21, 2017,
during the ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification
during the 1967 Six-Day War       Photo by Hadas Parush/FLASH90

In the days leading up to the Six Day War, in California's Yosemite Valley, about the only way to find out what was happening in the world was to read the daily newspapers that were trucked in from San Francisco. 

Radio didn't reach, and TV? - fuggetaboutit. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, apparently didn't think anyone at Yosemite should do anything but look at the natural wonders all around them.

But things were happening.

On May 16, Egypt moved its army into the Sinai
and demanded that UN peacekeepers withdraw.

On May 18, UN Secretary General U Thant acceded to the Egyptian demand.

On May 22, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.

On May 26, President Johnson warned Israel not to attack first.

On Monday May 29, the United States observed Memorial Day. 

Abq Jew and his parents z"l spent the entire weekend at Yosemite National Park, doing what Jews all over the world were doing - watching, waiting, worrying.

Dr Yitzhak Yifat, Tzion Karasenti, and Chaim Oshri
May 2017, and in David Rubinger's iconic 1967 photograph

We all know how the war turned out - thanks to men like Dr Yitzhak Yifat, Tzion Karasenti, and Chaim Oshri, and many more who gave their lives so that the State of Israel might continue to live.

Remember this book?  (Yes, it helps if you're of a certain age.)  Abq Jew lost his copy many years ago (but is willing to buy yours!), and considers So Sorry We Won one of the happiest, truest books ever.

The website The Six Day War tells us about the aftermath of the war.

After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel was — in Defense Minister Moshe Dayan's famous phrase — "waiting for a telephone call" from Arab leaders. Israelis expected to hear that now, at last, their neighbors were ready to talk peace. 

Having escaped not only feared annihilation, but also winning a seemingly miraculous victory, Israel's leaders did two things: They vowed not to return to the vulnerable armistice lines of 1948 and '49 or to a divided Jerusalem, and yet to be "unbelievably generous in working out peace terms," as Foreign Minister Abba Eban put it. In direct talks with Arab countries, "everything is negotiable," he said.

What actually happened? The Khartoum Declaration.

Finally, the leaders of thirteen Arab states gathered at a summit conference in Khartoum, Sudan from August 29 to September 1. 

There they pledged to continue their struggle against Israel. 

Influenced by Nasser, "their conditions were quite specific: no peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel, no recognition of Israel, and 'maintenance of the rights of the Palestinian people in their nation.' 

And after that? Fifty years of history. Some things changed, but some things didn't. Abq Jew is sure you know all about it.

But back to The Paratroopers. Andrew Tobin, writing in The Forward, tells us -

Between June 5 and 15, in honor of the Six-Day War’s 50th anniversary, the three former paratroopers, now in their 70s, will re-create Rubinger’s photo in their first-ever tour of the United States — with stops at Jewish communities and other locations in the Cleveland, Detroit, San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston and Baltimore areas. They will also recount some of the sacrifices that were made in the battle for Jerusalem.

And of the Battle for Jerusalem, and The Photograph, Mr Tobin writes -

The paratroopers rushed forward amid sniper fire from remaining Jordanian soldiers and rammed their way through the Lions’ Gate of the Old City. From there they made their way through narrow stone alleys and up to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. 

“The Temple Mount is in our hands,” Gur reported. 

Religious and secular paratroopers alike were awed by their return to the heart of the ancient Jewish homeland. 

“I didn’t realize where I was until I saw the Israeli flag flying above the stones, said Karasenti, an observant Jew. “I started to cry. Everyone was emotional. The whole nation of Israel was in ecstasy, euphoria. You can’t even imagine what it was like.” 

While Yifat, Karasenti and Chaim Oshri were walking along the wall, Rubinger, who died in March at 92, lay on the ground and snapped the photo that would make them — and him — famous. Within days, the image had appeared in newspapers around the world.

And The Song!

Old City walls decorated for Jerusalem Day, May 2017
Photo by Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90