JOKE OF THE WEEK — Here’s one, source unknown, I recently found in my inbox. “Don’t give up. Moses was once a basket case.”
ISRAELI MOVIE OPENS — “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” opens on Friday, March 20, at two local theaters. In this powerhouse courtroom drama from sibling directors Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz, an Israeli woman (Ronit Elkabetz) seeking to finalize a divorce (gett) from her estranged husband finds herself effectively put on trial by her country’s religious marriage laws. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}In Israel, there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce; only Orthodox rabbis can legalize a union or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband’s full consent. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Viviane Amsalem has been applying for a divorce for three years but her religiously devout husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian of “Casino Royale” and Persepolis”), continually refuses. His cold intransigence, Viviane’s determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the rabbinical judges shape a procedure where tragedy vies with absurdity and everything is brought out into the open for judgment. Winner of the Israeli Film Academy Ophir Award for Best Picture and propelled by the craft of Ronit Elkabetz (“Late Marriage,” “The Bandos Visit”), one of Israeli cinema’s most acclaimed actresses, “Gett: The Trial of VIvian Amsalem” is an uncompromising, heart-rending portrait of a woman’s struggle to overcome an unmoving patriarchy and live a life of her own design.
The movie is showing at the Tivoli Cinema in Westport Manor Square (for show times call 913-383-7756; order tickets at 816-561-5222) and the new Glenwood Arts in the Ranch Mart South Shopping Center (www.fineartsgroup.com).
PROMOTING JEWISH IN KC — Kansas City will be represented at the upcoming Orthodox Union’s Fifth International Jewish Communities Home and Job Relocation Fair on Sunday, April 26, in New York City. K.C. will be one of 45 communities represented, and will highlight the amenities the community offers for Orthodox families, including a lower cost of living than can be found on the East Coast, good job opportunities, Orthodox synagogues, day schools and kosher food. Among those representing our community at the fair are Rabbi Daniel Rockoff of Congregation BIAV, Mendel Segal, executive director of the Vaad HaKashruth, and Howard Haas, head of school at Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. Over the past few years 25 new families have moved to Kansas as a result of an ongoing recruitment effort by Kansas City’s Orthodox community, which among other things includes a presence at the fair and the success of HBHA’s Matmidim program.{/mprestriction}