The Darwin Debate

So then there was the time the monkey escaped from the zoo.

The zookeeper looked high and low, and after a long search, he finally found the monkey sitting in the public library.

His mixed-up looking monkey was holding a Bible in one (opposably-thumbed) hand, and Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” in the other.

“I’m confused,” the monkey told the zookeeper. “Am I my brother’s keeper – or my keeper’s brother?”

You ll forgive a rabbi for starting off with a little joke. (“Very little,” I can hear some of you saying.) What can I tell you? It’s a hazard of the job.

But for a rabbi like me, the subject of evolution is no joke.

And as an Englishman now living in New York, I can assure you: the topic is never far from the surface here in America. This is the country where atheists “celebrate” Christmas by trying to get “Silent Night” silenced from school pageants, then furious Christians respond with unchristian fury – and we Jews get blamed for it all!

I kid! Again. (Mostly.)

But yes, in the United States, the fallout from the famous Scopes “Monkey” Trial — which pitted evolutionists against creationists — is still in the air.

So I’m not surprised that the producer of a new British movie about Charles Darwin is blaming “religious American audiences” because his film, “Creation,” can’t get a distribution deal across the pond.

“Creation” stars Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly as Charles Darwin and his devout wife, Emma. The film depicts events leading up to the publication of Darwin’s world changing book.

In particular, the death of Darwin’s ten-year-old daughter, Anna, caused him to question his Christian faith and paved the way for his theory of evolution and natural selection.

No sooner had the London Daily Mail trumpeted the producer’s claim that right wing Christ ians were trying to ban his movie, than Twitter and Facebook lit up like (soon to be banned) Christmas trees, with calls to defend “Creation” against those redneck censors.

The trouble is: a reporter from New York Magazine (hardly an ally of the fundamentalists) couldn’t find any actual film distributors to confirm the producer’s tales of persecution.

The reporter then ventured another guess at the cause of the movie’s misfortunes:

“Maybe the movie’s just not that good? And a money loser to boot?” mused Dan Kois, quoting one critic as calling it “Flat, dull, and painful to sit through.”

So while American Christians have indeed tried to ban “offensive” movies in the past, this time they don’t seem to care enough about “Creation” to bother.

Frankly, until I read in the Daily Mail about this “controversy” allegedly sweeping America, I hadn’t heard a thing about it.

This doesn’t mean I don’t care about the topic of evolution. I’d just rather argue about real theories and real science, not imaginary controversies surrounding forgettable movies.

Don’t get me wrong: without the brilliance and hard work of scientists in every field, our world would be a poorer place. I admire their ingenuity and dedication. Heck, I admire the fact that they’ve mastered mathematics, because I sure couldn’t!

I only wish evolutionary scientists could admit that they are no more objective about their field as I am of mine. Scientists claim to be motivated by reason, logic and facts – but Darwin himself was clearly influenced by tragic events in his own life, and the feelings these events engendered.

Would the theory of natural selection have ever “evolved” if Darwin’s daughter had lived? We can only speculate – except that lots of “free thinking” scientists wish we wouldn’t.

Evolution says that a dumb universe can create intelligent beings. But we read in Genesis that our intelligent universe just looks dumb – it is smarter than we can perceive.

That’s not to say we human beings aren’t dumb: if you want to see how badly natural selection works, just watch some reality TV!

Some respectable Torah scholars have tried to align Judaism with evolution. Yet none of them can square the famous creation story in Genesis with Darwin’s theories, or their own.

Their error stems from the commonplace belief that evolution has been scientifically proven and therefore cannot be questioned. This is simply not the case. While Darwin’s theories were quickly embraced as handy (and sometimes sinister) metaphors by some artists, writers and philosophers – not to mention a famous dictator or two — they haven’t withstood more rigorous examination.

At bottom, we’re stuck with a handful of fossils, lots of speculation– and plenty of unanswered questions.

The human mind recoils at the prospect of having to say, “I don’t understand.” Any theory is better than none. As far as many moderns are concerned, even a half-baked theory is better than the alternative: religious faith.

Anyway, “Creation” co-star Jennifer Connelly is Jewish. In fact, she was raised here in Brooklyn Heights, where my synagogue resides. I would implore her not to waste this weekend worrying over her new movie’s disappointing performance at the box office. I invite her to come to shul for Rosh Hashanah instead. We may not have all the answers, but we do have something better than theories. We have faith.

Does Seinfeld Still Matter?

Curb Your Enthusiasm returns to HBO on September 20, and this seventh season of the critically acclaimed, award-winning comedy series may turn out to be its best yet. That’s because this season will really be a combination of two hit shows in one.

In the alternate showbiz universe of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the cast of Curb creator Larry David’s previous (real life) hit show, Seinfeld, are getting together for a (fictional) cast reunion special.

Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards and other stars of that classic 1990s sitcom will show up to work out the reunion’s logistics with their old colleague Larry, and hilarity will no doubt ensue.

When this plot line leaked out, you could sense the, well, enthusiasm in the media and beyond. Anyone who wondered if the world still cared about some “old” sitcom called Seinfeld got their answer: a resounding yes. Seinfeld marked the beginning of a new golden age of Jewish comedy. It still matters.

I’ll take that one step further, and argue that Curb Your Enthusiasm matters even more.

For comedy buffs like me – after all, I “wrote the book” about modern Jewish humor, called Shtick Shift – these new episodes of Curb will be a fascinating blend of old and new.

Seinfeld aired from 1989 until 1998, and was one of the most popular shows in television history. Its characters, situations and catch phrases (like “yadda yadda yadda”) became part of the cultural currency.

More importantly, Seinfeld was a highpoint in the history of American Jewish humor. All those great comedy pioneers, from Fanny Brice (with her broad Yiddish accent) to Woody Allen (with his neurotic nebbishy character) had paved the way for those hilarious 22-minutes a week with Jerry and his friends. If the previous hundred years of Jewish comedy had been a funny run-on sentence, then Seinfeld was its exclamation point.

Yet ironically, even through Seinfeld is now considered the definitive Jewish sitcom, the first seasons featured few openly Jewish storylines. Sure, characters Jerry, Elaine and Kramer were obviously Jewish, but not explicitly so – more like “Israel-lite.”

After a few successful seasons, Seinfeld’s sensibility gradually became more explicitly Jewish – and ironically, the show became even more popular to a wider audience.

In an episode that seemed like a knowing wink to all the non-Jewish fans of the program, Jerry’s gentile dentist converts to Judaism – “for the jokes”!

Jerry: Elaine, the guy’s Jewish two days, he’s already making Jewish jokes.

Elaine: So what? When someone turns twenty-one, they usually get drunk the first night.

Jerry: Booze is not a religion.

Elaine: Tell that to my father.

The nation had “converted” to Jewish humor.

Eventually, Jerry’s Upper West Side neighborhood took over from the legendary Lower East Side to become New York City’s (and the world’s) unofficial Jewish capital.

The breathtaking success of the Seinfeld “experiment” gave the show’s executive producer, Larry David, the creative freedom he needed to follow up with the most openly Jewish comedy series ever: Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Which means that when the Seinfeld gang enters Larry David’s upscale Brentwood domain — a fairyland-shtetl of posh boutiques, exclusive restaurants, therapists and acupuncturists — they will finally become authentically Jewish, no longer just “Jew-ish.”

From its very start seven seasons ago, Curb Your Enthusiasm took the famous Seinfeld sensibility to a radical extreme. The 21st century had just begun, and Curb Your Enthusiasm reflected changing times. America had assimilated Jewishness, Jewishness had assimilated America, and Curb Your Enthusiasm would exploit those realities.

Curb Your Enthusiasm concerns the actual (more or less) off-screen life of Larry David. Post-Seinfeld, the wealthy, successful (and mostly miserable) David is now semi-retired, having left the good old Upper West Side for glamorous Brentwood, Los Angeles.

He hangs out with his manager Jeff Greene (Jeff Garlin) and Jeff’s wife Susie (Susie Essman) and lives with his wife Cheryl (Cheryl Hines).

At least, he did, until that unfortunate Season Six incident with the TiVo repairman… Curb Your Enthusiasm fans have been waiting impatiently to find out if the couple will reconcile in season seven.

Soon they’ll have their answer. With another example of impeccable comic timing, Larry David’s all-new offerings will start airing on September 20, right after Rosh Hashanah. (Which would be the perfect time for Kramer actor Michael Richards to repent of his racist rant a few years back…)

As a rabbi, I can’t think of anything better after two days of giving a bunch of sermons to kvetching congregants than watching the King of Kvetchers himself, Larry David, unveil a new season of this modern TV classic.

Simcha Weinstein is an award-winning author, whose latest book is Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is out now.

Family Goy

As a rabbi with a lifelong passion for comedy, I often find myself torn between my love of a good (or even a bad!) joke, and my reverent religious beliefs. The TV program that challenges my sensibilities the most is probably Family Guy.

A recent episode of that notorious and unfailingly offensive show called “Family Goy” skewered a host of clichés with even more blatant disregard for propriety than usual.

In that episode, Lois, the “mom” on the show, discovers that her mother, Barbara Pewterschmidt, is a Holocaust survivor who later renounced her Judaism to help her husband get into country clubs (“It was the right thing to do, dear,” says Mrs. Pewterschmidt ).

“So Grandma Hebrewberg is actually Jewish?” exclaims Lois.

“Yes,” her mother explains. “When she moved to America, her family changed their name. It was originally Hebrewbergmoneygrabber.”

“Family Goy” includes the resurrection of Jewish accountant Max Weinstein, the popular mensch character from a well-known previous episode called “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein.” Written by Mark Hentemann, the newer script’s humor takes a few dark, mean-spirited turns.

At first, Peter embraces his wife’s Jewish heritage, going so far as donning a tallit, kippah and Star of David necklace (chest hair included). He even adopts a Hebrew name that is nothing more than a long guttural “chchchchchch” sound.

When Lois objects, Peter kvetches: “Leave it to a Jew to take all the fun out of being a Jew.”

Peter is then visited by the ghost of his father Francis, who warns him that he will go to hell for renouncing his (nominal) Catholicism. Sure enough, the next day, Peter turns anti-Semitic. That is, he attempts to shoot Lois with a sniper rifle!

Incredibly, Peter is purposely emulating Amon Leopold Göth, the Plaszów concentration camp commandant featured in “Schindler’s List.” Peter sits shirtless in his bedroom window with a rifle, shooting at his wife and the town’s only other well-known Jew, Mort.

After Lois apologizes for Peter’s violent behavior, Mort responds, “No problem, Lois. That’s just how people say hello to me.”

In the end, Peter and Lois apologize to each other, but are left wondering which religion to follow now, if any.

Needless to say, the “Family Goy” episode generated plenty of controversy. Dvir Abramovich editor of the Australian Journal of Jewish Studies, complained that the show “dredged up age-old stereotypes about Jews and money and reinforced deeply embedded prejudices that still abound today”.

In my humble opinion, that is exactly the point.

While interfaith catastrophes and travesties abound in “Family Goy”, that’s what makes it so brutally honest. Why not get these stereotypes out in the open and mock them?

By confronting our insecurities through cutting edge humor, and looking at them through the lens of comedy, we can start controlling those feelings instead of letting them control us.

Family Guy is a necessary counterpoint to the glossy veneer of Jewish-gentile harmony that has become de rigueur in contemporary prime-time comedy.

The world, after all, isn’t always a paradise of peace and harmony. Just this week, the world witnessed the theft of the infamous “Arbeit macht frei” (“Work makes you free”) sign that once hung over the gates of Auschwitz. Meanwhile, as its horrors recede into the distant past, the macabre phenomenon of Holocaust denial is growing. What does it tell us that at the same time, today’s generation of post-modern comedians, like Sarah Silverman, have declared the Holocaust “on limits” as a subject of humor.

As a rabbi, much of that humor makes me deeply uncomfortable. It certainly isn’t material for a Shabbat sermon. However, context and narrative point of view are everything, and can be the difference between a harsh but insightful gag and a tasteless joke. Family Guy uses absurdity to remind us of the gravity of the Holocaust, not make fun of it. By playing the character of a no-excuses bigot, Peter Griffin forces the audiences to confront their own prejudices.

In a final Shtick Shift, Lois actually is a Jew and is voiced by Jewish actress Alex Borstein. So what’s my lesson for this latest member of the tribe, I will have to quote my namesake Max Weinstein who comments in “Family Goy”, “becoming Jewish doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process that involves spiritual education and good works.”

Simcha Weinstein is an award-winning author, whose latest book is Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is out now.

In new Tarantino film, Jews exact revenge on Nazis

Add acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino to the long list of filmmakers who can’t resist making their own World War II fantasy-action flick.

Tarantino’s latest release is “Inglourious Basterds” – and yes, the misspelling is intentional.

Inspired by a schlocky 1970s Italian “macaroni combat” action picture of the same name, the movie is Tarantino’s homage to the “misfits on a mission” movies of old, like “The Dirty Dozen.”

His heroes are a Jewish-American revenge squad wreaking havoc throughout German-occupied France who not only kill but scalp their Nazi targets.

In a parallel storyline, a beautiful young Jewish woman whose family was slaughtered by the SS somehow takes over the Paris cinema where Goebbel’s latest propaganda film will debut, with Hitler in attendance. She plans to trap the audience of high-ranking Nazis inside and burn the building to the ground.

“My name is Shoshanna Dreyfus,” she announces, “and this is the face of Jewish vengeance.”

At the news conference following the film’s debut, one journalist asks if “Inglourious Basterds” is a “Jewish revenge fantasy.”

Eli Roth, one of Tarantino’s “basterds” and also director of the “Hostel” horror movies, said the notion of Jews getting even with Hitler was “kosher porn.”

“It’s something I dreamed since I was a kid,” Roth said.

In the movie, Roth gets to live out his childhood fantasy: He plays the baseball bat-swinging “Bear Jew,” who some of the film’s Nazis believe is really a vengeful golem.

The concept of the film challenges the stereotype of wimpy Jewish males on the big screen personified by Woody Allen back in the 1960s. It’s a stock character that still makes appearances, notably in the film comedies of Ben Stiller and TV shows like “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

I for one am tired of it. In a world in which Jews are under constant threat, is “wimpy” really the image we want to convey?

The 21st century iteration retains traces of nebbishness, but also displays an edgy attitude reminiscent of the scruffy, hyper, cocky Jewish characters Richard Dreyfus specialized in during the 1970s.

Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd and Jonah Hill are three of the stars in Jewish director Judd Apatow’s constellation who seem to be channeling Dreyfus’ satirical outlook and boundless energy in Apatow films such as “The 40 Year Old Virgin,” “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.”

“The Hebrew Hammer” (2003), starring Adam Goldberg, paved the way for a new kind of swaggering Jewish hero on film. He’s sexy because he’s Jewish, not in spite of it.

The movie plays with African-American and Jewish cultural touchstones: The Hammer drives a pimped-out white Cadillac with Magen David headlights; his license plate reads “L’Chaim”; and his fuzzy dice are dreidels.

After saving some Jewish children from older Christian bullies, he tells them solemnly, “Stay Jewish.” The result is the first “Jewsploitation” film.

More swaggering Hebrew heroes turned up in other comedies like “Hot Rod” (2007), in which Andy Samberg stars as an Evel Knievel-inspired stuntman — not exactly a profession commonly chosen by Jews.

Meanwhile, Adam Sandler starred in “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” (2008), about a former Mossad agent who dreams of becoming a hairdresser.

Jews with attitude aren’t restricted to comedies, but they aren’t seen very often in dramas, either, except in movies such as “Raid on Entebbe,” made back in 1977.

Recently, however, the character of the armed, defiant Jew has reappeared. Edward Zwick’s “Defiance,” for example, is about four Jewish brothers from Poland who escape the Nazis and go on to rescue fellow Jews. (As an English Jew, I have to admit I got considerable nachas seeing Daniel Craig — James Bond himself — kicking Nazi tuchas alongside Liev Schreiber.)

And now “Inglourious Basterds” is set to hit the big screens on Aug. 21, and the unabashedly Jewish characters are a major selling and plot point. The movie is sure to inspire a tingle of “what if” wish fulfillment in audiences, Jewish and non-Jewish.

Simcha Weinstein is an award-winning author, whose latest book is Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor in the 21st century (Barricade Books: 2008) is out now.

Jews are Funny People?

Let’s face it: the story about the time the Jews of ancient Persia were saved from genocide doesn’t sound like a recipe for hilarity. Yet every year, we celebrate the festival of Purim to commemorate that important victory. In doing so, we also acknowledge the significant role humor plays in the Jewish faith.

The lasting appeal of the Purim story, or megilah, owes a great deal to its split-second reversals of fortune, called hippuch in Hebrew. A potential tragedy turns triumphant just in time, when, in an ironic twist, the evil villain Haman ends up being executed on the very gallows he’d built to hang the Jews. The Purim story, with its upside down punchline of an ending, is the taproot of all Jewish humor, which traditionally links the tragic with the comic, and the bitter with the sweet. Read more

Kill Adolf

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you hadn’t taken that job, or gone to that school, or moved to that neighborhood?

In other words: what if you were living in an alternative reality?

Alternative history is a genre with a long pedigree, especially in the realm of science fiction. After all, who can resist wondering, “What if…?”

The epic saga of the Second World War, with its action, tragedy and larger than life heroes, has inspired many “alternative histories”, from the “The City on the Edge of Forever” episode of the original Star Trek, to the 1992 novel-turned-mini series Fatherland, which depicts a world in which the Nazis defeat the Allies. The promise and allure of the subject matter is so great, in fact, that over the course of eight long years, two British teenagers who’d lived through the Blitz filmed their own alternative history movie on that same theme, called It Happened Here: The Story of Hitler’s England (1966).  Read more

Year One: Biblical Blasphemy is Back

Sunday school just got a lot more interesting. The new movie Year One is an Old Testament version of the classic Monty Python comedy The Life of Brian.

 

Now, for some people, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement. Not everybody approved of the Pythons’ outrageous spoof of Biblical epics, which featured something to offend everyone. Yet, thus far Year One hasn’t generated anything like the controversy the latter did decades ago. Why not?

Read more

Loving Susie Essman?

On January 25, CBS aired the TV movie “Loving Leah.” This pleasant if forgettable Hallmark Hall of Fame production told the romantic tale of a secular Jewish doctor (what else?) who marries his Chabad-Chasidic sister-in-law, Leah, after the death of his brother, the rabbi (but of course!) 

 
Actress Susie Essman, who portrayed Leah’s overbearing bubbe, appeared on the talk show The View last week to promote the new movie. However, Essman spent much of her time berating the real-life Chasidic women she’d met during filming. 
 
View co-host Joy Behar asked Essman, CSo what did you learn about the Chasidic religion?” 
 
Essman replied, “They’re not very good dressers… Have you seen what these women look like half the time?”  Read more

Chanukah: A Time For Superheroes

Doctor Leonard Samson, better known as “Doc Samson,” strides down the corridor and into the classroom, massive muscles rippling beneath his skin-tight red costume. He sports a long mane of hair, just like his biblical namesake (except the real Samson’s hair wasn’t green, presumably).

Today, Doc Samson, taking a welcome break from his crime fighting, is visiting the children at his old Hebrew school to tell them all about Chanukah. It’s a very special occasion, so Doc Samson’s wearing a navy kippa along with his skin-tight red costume. The teacher, an aging bubbe named Mrs. Klein, proudly introduces our colorful hero: “I was his teacher here at the yeshiva when he was a very little boy.”

But the chutzpadik kids are unimpressed by their bizarre guest.

One student voices his certainty that Doc Samson had been beaten up by the Hulk. Others ask whether the Maccabees had guns or cable TV. Read more

A Jewish Joker: From the Catskills to Gotham City

The release of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, will inevitably be overshadowed by the untimely death of one of its stars, Health Ledger, who played the Joker. The talented young actor had devoted himself to creating an original, multifaceted portrayal of the iconic character, arguably the most compelling villain in the Batman canon.
 
The distinctive look and feel of this latest film was inspired by Frank Miller’s revolutionary graphic novels of the 1980s, which unveiled a more complex and cynical Batman character than the caped crusader who debuted in the pages of DC Comics in 1937.
 
Batman was the brainchild of Bob Kane and Bill Finger, two young Jewish bruisers who first crossed paths at De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx during the Great Depression. Read more

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