You Can’t Help But Watch

Maybe it stems from watching too much Three Stooges when I was younger. Maybe it is because I am a rather simple individual. Maybe it is all comes down to intellectual laziness. For whatever reason, there are some movies that when you see them on television, listed on Amazon Prime or NetFlicks, or sitting on top of the 99 cent bin at the store you can’t help but watch them. Not because they are some cinematic masterpiece but because you don’t have to think when the movie is playing… it is all about being able to laugh for the sake of laughing. Some call it comedy in its purest for but I like to take a more honest view and see them as so stupid they’re funny.

Everyone is guilty of having that little list of movies in their mind that when they are playing you almost instinctively stop flipping through the channels or scrolling down the page. Three Stooges still gets me to this day although I have only caught myself watching a few minutes at a time. However, if I hear a familiar Clark Griswold line, a Mel Brooks melody, or Tackleberry’s overly intense and naïve take on a situation I immediately stop searching and enjoy the mental break. I even recall the rare moments when UHF was in constant rotation. However, there is one recent movie that I find watching more than any other which falls into this category… Super Troopers.  

I guess this one can meow be seen almost like the modern day Police Academy but I think it is much better. While there are few lines that I can recall from the 80’s franchise, Super Troopers has provided a variety of one liners that are burned into our brains (along with some unfortunate visuals). Meow that is a classic movie. However, while they made 7 Police Academy movies of varying quality, there has only been one Super Troopers movie. That is, until meow.

While scrolling through my Facebook feed I came across a post by Broken Lizard (the group behind the movie) about an announcement that they were preparing to make. When I checked back in a couple of days later I read about the interesting approach that they were taking to finally deliver on a sequel. As it turns out, they have decided to crowd fund the new project and they are offering some rather unique incentives to those who donate. 24 hours after launching their campaign to raise $2 million for production they far surpassed their goal. It looks like the sequel will soon be a reality and Bimpus sized at that. Of course, you can still grab a perk and make the movie even better. I guess I am not the only one who can’t help watching the movie.

Shavuot: An All-Night Torah Party (With Cheesecake)!

And you thought traffic was bad on the highway!

Driving home from lodge last night I passed by numerous people on their way to shul for the Torah marathon that filled the night. I can’t say that I was one of the sleep deprived Jews stumbling about this morning. However, it is a great evening that I would like to take part in at least once in my life. I don’t look forward to the lack of sleep but the experience is something that definitely overshadows that.

So why are Jews around the world staying up all night? That’s right boys and girls, it’s time for another Jewish holiday. This week we are celebrating Shavuot! This holiday is very important and has grown in greater significance in recent years thanks to the innovations made by Apple because it is on this day that we celebrate the creation of the tablet. Actually, two tablets. Three if you get your history from Mel Brooks movies.

 

Shavuot is a two day holiday in the diaspora (Jews living outside of Israel where it is only one day) when we commemorate the anniversary of the day G-d gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai. It is also the day that marks the conclusion of the counting of the Omer which, if you remember from our previous blog lesson, is a counting of weeks between Passover (the Exodus) and Shavuot (the giving of the Torah). Basically, it is a link between when we were freed from slavery under Pharaoh to when G-d gave us the handbook as to how we should conduct ourselves in our daily lives.

For a more detailed overview of the holiday, here is the summary which can be found on Chabad.org:

The Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai more than 3300 years ago. Every year on the holiday of Shavuot we renew our acceptance of G‑d’s gift, and G‑d “re-gives” the Torah.

The word Shavuot means “weeks.” It marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot.

The giving of the Torah was a far-reaching spiritual event—one that touched the essence of the Jewish soul for all times. Our sages have compared it to a wedding between G‑d and the Jewish people. Shavuot also means “oaths,” for on this day G‑d swore eternal devotion to us, and we in turn pledged everlasting loyalty to Him.

In ancient times, two wheat loaves would be offered in Holy Temple. It was also at this time that people would begin to bring bikkurim, their first and choicest fruits, to thank G‑d for Israel’s bounty.

The holiday of Shavuot is a two-day holiday, beginning at sundown of the 5th of Sivan and lasting until nightfall of the 7th of Sivan. (In Israel it is a one-day holiday, ending at nightfall of the 6th of Sivan.)

·         Women and girls light holiday candles to usher in the holiday, on both the first and second evenings of the holidays.

·         It is customary to stay up all night learning Torah on the first night of Shavuot.

·         All men, women and children should go to the synagogue on the first day of Shavuot to hear the reading of the Ten Commandments.

·         As on other holidays, special meals are eaten, and no “work” may be performed.

·         It is customary to eat dairy foods on Shavuot. Among other reasons, this commemorates the fact that upon receiving the Torah, including the kosher laws, the Jewish people could not cook meat in their pots, which had yet to be rendered kosher.

·         On the second day of Shavuot, the Yizkor memorial service is recited.

·         Some communities read the Book of Ruth publicly, as King David—whose passing occurred on this day—was a descendant of Ruth the Moabite.

For those who are less observant it is a time to order pizza (or cheesecake following a lighter meal), light the candles, and read the Torah for the evening before we head off to bed to rest for another day at the office in the morning. It is a great holiday and one of tremendous importance to us all, Jew and non-Jew alike, and it is one that should serve as a common interest if you will that we share with other faiths. This is the day we celebrate the moment when G-d spoke to us all and showed His devotion and compassion for each and every one of us. This truly is a day to rejoice (not a word I use often).