The Face Of a Papa

I rented Fiddler On The Roof from our local library this week. We watched the first half last night and I was absolutely delighted! There is so much material here to discuss with my family. What were the girls' dreams for their lives? What were their realities? How did the parents get along? What were you feeling as we watched them give the Sabbath blessing to their children? What positive values do you see? Negative? How did each of the young couples interact? How does all of this line up with what you are learning about growing up?

My son, R, "accused" me of having a thing for the Jews, based upon my love for movies about their lives. I do. I love their sense of self-deprecating humor, their out in the openness about so many practical and sometimes petty things, their quaint time-honored sayings and habits, their fear of God's holy wrath, their trust in Him through thick and thin, their honest conversations - at least this is how it all strikes me in the movies. Such transparency.

Most of all, I love the fact that you can see the child in them regardless of the years they wear.

Teyve's song, If I Were A Rich Man, and the cart he then must pull afterwards reminded me so much of my own dear husband. Such uninhibited abandoned confession in prayer... and the look on his face imagining all the time he could spend learning more about the scriptures... I can't wait to watch the second half. (However, I'm afraid the lyrics and melodies of the songs are stuck in my head for the next month! Anyone else like that?)

The word of the LORD came to me: "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
" 'I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest...
Jeremiah 2:1-3