VCR Tapes In the times of the Mishnah when you were learning from your Rebbe it had this urgency and excitement. You knew that you had to remember what the teacher was saying or it would be lost, people were trying to stop you and stop this message and you had to carry it on to the next generation, you were important and this moment had urgency and meaning.
Now we have the exact opposite problem. Nothing is urgent. When a song came on the radio in 1996 it was something special and you listened to it and you enjoyed it now we can hear any song anytime we want and we enjoy nothing. Once VCR tapes became mainstream the magic of the movies was already beginning to fade. Now we have unlimited access to incredible Torah, but we have absolutely no urgency because of the access. Jonathan Safran Foer - Mortality is the price we pay for meaning, if everything lives forever, nothing is precious. Matisyahu- Death brings life to uncertain things. |
In the Truman show when Truman was going to stab his wife Meryl she said to the camera, do something. She broke the fourth wall!!! In this moment of extreme emotion and heightened danger something broke and she revealed a higher level of truth a deeper layer of reality. We have a parallel moment in the Torah. When Hashem says he is going to kill all the Jewish people, an emotional, dangerous proposition, Moshe replies, Erase me from this book you are writing. In the Torah he refers to the fact that he is in the Torah.He does not say kill me, he says erase me from this book you wrote. Super Meta!!! But what book is this referring to ?? Rashbam and Chizkuni point out the book he is talking about is not the Torah, but the book of life from Rosh Hashana, plot twist, Rabbenu Bacheya says the Pshat is that it is the Torah. Do something!! Clip |
One of the central debates in Black Panther is whether Wakanada should open up to the outside world and help everyone or should it remain insular and hidden. This debate mirrors the perspectives of Modern Orthedox and Haredi elements.
Should Judaism isolate itself and preserve its traditions or should it be “A light onto the nations” and spread its ideas and influence others around the world. |
In the film Thor: Ragnarok. We learn that Asgard is not a place. It is an idea and although Thor loses his hammer, that physical object is not what makes him who he is. The Jews lost Israel, the Temple and the Aaron Kodesh (Holy Ark) and continued. Because Judaism and the Torah have an eternal essence.
A focus on essences allowed the Assgardens to survive and the Jews as well. The Torah is not a book The congregation is not a building The person is not a body Are you the God of Hammers? Assgard is not a place. - Clip |
There is no Mashiach and you are it!!!
In the film Kung Fu Panda a pivotal moment occurs when Po is told by his father that the secret ingredient in the soup is nothing!!! It is all about believing the soup is special , the belief is what makes it special. It is about believing in yourself. That is why the dragon scroll is blank. This is the idea behind the revelation of the Mashaiach!! The Mashiach must believe that they are not Mashiach in order to be the Mashiach. We must become Atheists in Gods name !!! You must believe you are not the Mashiach in order to be the Mashiach. Once you think you are not the Mashiach and there is no Mashaich you can become the Mashiach. No secret ingredient -Clip |