Sometimes the world of pop culture and the world of Judaism just smack into each other.  How else to explain that the weekend of the Super Bowl happens to be the weekend that we read the Ten Commandments!

In thinking about the Ten Commandments I realized that another seeming coincidence snuck by this year.  The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences (the Oscars for short) expanded their list of nominees for best picture from the age old five to a curious number – TEN!  Surely this can’t be purely an accident?  Add to this that three of these movies deal strongly with Jewish main characters or themes and you have a challenge too hard to give up….  Match each nominee to one of the Commandments!  Could it be done?  I decided to go in reverse order in order to heighten the build up.  One caveat: I have not had time to see many of these movies so I am going by “the word on the street.”    I’d love to hear your thoughts on either the movies, the commandments or both!

X     You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (An Education)  Lets face it, without coveting there would be very little left in Hollywood.  Almost every good story involves someone wanting what someone else has.  In An Education, the plot revolves around a woman drawn into a world unfamiliar to her by a man who both dazzles her and plays on her innocence.   It all starts with coveting.

IX     You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (The Hurt Locker)   This movie is being hailed as one of the better movies of recent time to take on the complex realities of the Iraq War.  A good war movie not only must tell the truth, but reveal the ways in which each person drawn into the conflict bears witness to his or her own principles and beliefs.  The Ninth Commandment is about that responsibility.

VIII  You shall not steal. (District 9) This one’s going to be a bit of a stretch, but what can you expect with a sci-fi movie that I didn’t even see?  Actually, there are aliens mentioned in one of the Commandments but not this kind.  Not Stealing, however, is already a commandment stretched by the Sages because they felt that it referred to more than just grabbing money out of the till when no one was watching.  Instead they interpreted the Seventh Commandment to be stealing persons or kidnapping.  So we just have to push it to include abducting giant, shrimp like space refugees and there you go.

VII   You shall not commit adultery. (Up in the Air) Adultery is about more than just cheating on  a marriage.  The significance of this Commandment is about fidelity in life.  This very good movie challenges viewers to think about what bonds are important in our life and why they matter.  Even if the movie plays out a different kind of scenario, in the end I think it has a lot to say about the value of loyalty at home and at work. 

VI    You shall not murder. (Inglorious Basterds) But is there an exception for … killin’ Na-azis?  Few movies have ever pounded that question harder than this one which, like its namesakes, takes no prisoners in carving its mark on the debate about whether Jews should revel in taking revenge on our tormentors.

V     Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (Up) Reverence for our parents marks the transition from commandments about forbidden human actions to those that teach values essential to making our lives meaningful.  While many movies depict dysfunctional families they also play on how we learn from previous generations.  In the animated feature Up, the main character is an older man who is detached and wants to be more detached from the world around him by turning his house into a balloon propelled airship.  When he accidentally takes on a young kid as a stowaway he learns why we are not meant to live in isolation, how much he can learn from others, and, just as importantly, how much he can teach a young kid.

IV     Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy (Precious) When the Israelites were at their lowest point, oppressed by the Egyptians and driven deep into slavery, G-d extended a hand and brought them to freedom.  Shabbat is a reminder both that we came from humble beginnings and that there are no circumstances that can not be overcome.  In a stark, yet moving way this movie tells a similar story about never forgetting what is holy and precious even in the midst of abuse and exploitation.

III     You shall not take the name of the Lord for no  worth  (The Blind Side) This Commandment is sometimes translated as “in vain” and related to exclamations containing G-d’s name that seem disrespectful.  At the heart of the prohibition, however, is the idea that we can turn to G-d’s name as a way of expressing our faith as long we are prepared to back it up.  Whenever we make a promise in words and see it through in action it is as if we are taking the name not in vain but for a purpose. 

II      You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (Avatar) What is an idol?  One way to look at it is that an idol is a false god that is worshipped among many gods.  Many religious groups have pointed out that the blue creatures called the Navi who are the heroes of the movie practice a religion close to nature worship.  However, the wisdom of the Jewish tradition tells us that an idol can also be made out of greed, power, or need to conquer as exhibited by human beings in the movie.  This Commandment challenges us not to allow any cause, no matter how good it seems, to become an object of worship…. Which brings us to …..

I   I am the Lord your G-d, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;  Do not have any other gods before me. (A Serious Man) The last movie on this list has the most connection to traditional Jewish themes.  The Coen brothers tell a story that has been described as a modern version of the Book of Job -- the tale of a righteous man who finds his life turned upside down and demands answers from G-d.  What makes Job so powerful is that the title character never doubts G-d's existence, but cries out against the unjust way that bad things happen to good people.  In many ways, Job and A Serious Man are the most Jewish of stories, not just treating the Commandments like ancient words chiseled in rock, but clinging to them for meaning even the most difficult of times.

Ten different takes on the Ten Commandments.  I'd love to hear yours....

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Michael