Pizza Deliverance

Went to a pizza party-and-movie Sunday night.

The party was jointly sponsored by BBYO and Chabad in my area.

For $12 I got a couple of slices of pizza, some veggies, a bag of chips, a can of 10-2-4 Dr. Pepper, and a seat to watch the movie, "Deliverance."

With The Spouse out of town and being at a loss of what to do on a Sunday evening ... what a deal.

BBYO - formerly known as B'nai Brith Youth Organization - and Chabad rented one good sized theater in a mall multiplex (where did THAT word come from?) - pretty much filled the space. There were Jews of all approaches, from "Orthodox" to "Reform" (or vice versa).

It was an enjoyable evening.

It was a movie I will recommend.

The film is, as the senior Chabad rabbi pointed out, "R" rated. There is some violence - the movie is about Jews defending themselves from the Germans and fellow Russians after all - and there are some four-letter words, sometimes seemingly gratuitously.

But all-in-all, well worth the $15 or so I'd normally spend to see a movie.

Like the audience, the collection of Jews portrayed in the film ran the gamut from religious to communist, which I suppose is a religion in its own way.

Interestingly, from my perspective, the Jews only did one - just one - thing "un-Jewish"; one thing that could not be accommodated by a Torah injunction.

You, my favorite reader, are invited to offer your opinion as to what that "thing" might be. You may add a comment (but you must identify yourself) or send an email to Yohanon.Glenn @ gmail com.

There was one point in the movie when I thought of a flood story.

One of the partisan - that's Jewish partisan, if you please - leaders is appealing to the leaders of a ghetto about to be exterminated to join the partisans in the forest.

The mayor of the ghetto, even knowing what would ensue, said he wouldn't let the people go. The Jews' only defense, he felt, was time.

To be honest, the movie pointed out that for every one person who escaped from the ghetto, 10 or 20 of those who remained were murdered by the Germans or their Russian helpers.

(And to be equally honest, the movie showed some Russians who actually helped the Jews.)

Anyway, back to the flood.

This fellow who all his life has been a good (pick a religion).

The water starts rising and the National Guard comes by with a truck to evacuate people. *

Our fellow replies: I'm not going, G-d will provide.

The water rises and our fellow is forced to the second floor of this home.

The local rescue squad comes by in a boat and offers to take him away.

Our fellow replies: I'm not going, G-d will provide.

Water rises even higher and the fellow if takes refuge on the roof.

A National Guard helicopter hovers overhead and a crew member shouts down that this is the fellow's last chance to save himself.

You know the reply: I'm not going, G-d will provide.

Finally the water rises and the man drowns.

He is incensed. Really angry with G-d.

G-d decides to hear him out, to find out (as if G-d didn't already know, but for the sake of the story ...) what was causing such umbrage.

So our fellow gets it off his chest:

G-d, I always believed in you.

You said you always would provide.

Yet here I am; you failed me.

To which G-d replies: Didn't I send the National Guard truck and the rescue squad boat, and the National Guard helicopter?

The Jews in the forest, unlike leaders of the ghetto, recognized that G-d was providing a means to survive and acted upon it.

The film is based on fact and it one of the few documents that show, that prove, that not all Jews went willingly to their death.

Interestingly, I know - personally - a fellow in Florida who fought with Russian partisans. He escaped from the Germans and was found by the Russians who, he said, offered him the choice of joining them or becoming food for worms.

Even without the pizza package and good company, I will recommend the movie to everyone, but particularly all Jews of any point-of-view.

And again, I invite you to tell me what you think I found to be the one "un-Jewish" scene.

* Yes, I know it couldn't happen that way; all the National Guard troops and equipment are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

yohanon
Yohanon.Glenn @ gmail com