My Happiest Moment as a Fannish Jew (Jewish Fan?)
My squee for this was more intense than my squee for just about anything ever, and I wasn't even properly in fandom yet.
When it aired, the Sports Night episode April Is The Cruelest Month made my heart absolutely explode with joy, for the following reasons:
-a non-Hannukah Jewish holiday was placed at the center of an episode of an American sitcom.
-The metaphors and themes of Passover actually made their way into the text and subtext of the show - the entire episode became about transitioning from times of constriction, pain and narrowness to a time of greater openness and freedom.
-The Passover experience of the Jews on screen felt true to my own - Passover as a time for families of origin or of choice to come together; combining the inherited text of the Haggadah with each year's new silliness or question or interpretation; inviting non-Jewish friends and relatives to come sit at the table, too; making space and time for Passover observance, even if it means observing in ways that are different from the ones we grew up with.
-And my favorite thing of all? Josh Molina singing the Festival Kiddush. Not only did he use the correct tune, he sang Baruch ata adoshem elokeinu*, which made my inner liturgy geek all kinds of happy.
If you're a Jewish Sports Night fan, what did you love about this episode?
And/or, what's your happiest Jewish-fannish/fannish-Jewish moment? Let's get some love going on in here!
*The words Molina used aren't the words one would use if one were actually praying the prayer (which include an elision for the Name of God), but rather the substitute words that are used for teaching and talking about the prayers. So, embedded in the scene itself were both a nod to the fact that this was a scene in a television show and not an actual seder *and* clear proof that at least one person involved in the prodeuction was very knowledgeable about Jewish liturgical practice.
When it aired, the Sports Night episode April Is The Cruelest Month made my heart absolutely explode with joy, for the following reasons:
-a non-Hannukah Jewish holiday was placed at the center of an episode of an American sitcom.
-The metaphors and themes of Passover actually made their way into the text and subtext of the show - the entire episode became about transitioning from times of constriction, pain and narrowness to a time of greater openness and freedom.
-The Passover experience of the Jews on screen felt true to my own - Passover as a time for families of origin or of choice to come together; combining the inherited text of the Haggadah with each year's new silliness or question or interpretation; inviting non-Jewish friends and relatives to come sit at the table, too; making space and time for Passover observance, even if it means observing in ways that are different from the ones we grew up with.
-And my favorite thing of all? Josh Molina singing the Festival Kiddush. Not only did he use the correct tune, he sang Baruch ata adoshem elokeinu*, which made my inner liturgy geek all kinds of happy.
If you're a Jewish Sports Night fan, what did you love about this episode?
And/or, what's your happiest Jewish-fannish/fannish-Jewish moment? Let's get some love going on in here!
*The words Molina used aren't the words one would use if one were actually praying the prayer (which include an elision for the Name of God), but rather the substitute words that are used for teaching and talking about the prayers. So, embedded in the scene itself were both a nod to the fact that this was a scene in a television show and not an actual seder *and* clear proof that at least one person involved in the prodeuction was very knowledgeable about Jewish liturgical practice.