The Parable of the Goy's Teeth

[Sue U]

So I finally watched the Coen Brothers' movie A Serious Man last weekend, which aside from being a darkly hilarious re-working of the Book of Job, includes this parable that seems to perfectly encapsulate the school of Jewish theology to which I adhere.

To set the scene, Larry Gopnik is a physics professor leading an apparently innocuous and blameless life, when out of the blue his world begins falling apart: his problematic brother has moved in, his wife wants a divorce, he has been apparently set up to be blackmailed by a student, the tenure committee has been receiving libelous letters about him, and he's somehow in hock to the Columbia Record Club, among other tsuris visited upon him. He seeks pastoral guidance from his clergy in an effort to understand what God may be telling him, consulting here with Rabbi Nachtman:



A Serious Man is the most seriously funny movie I have seen in a very long time, and contains more than a little insight into the human condition.

[BoSoxGal]

I put it in my queue - thanks for the recommendation!

[Sue U]

Let me know what you think; I was concerned about recommending it because a lot of the jokes derive from a very specific type of Jewish community life -- one in which I grew up, and which is archly depicted here, but which I'm not sure would resonate with a broader audience. I was in stitches from start to finish, though.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Thanks for the excerpt. It's brilliant and the Coens are great.

[Long Run]

A Sue-BSG-MGM confluence is worthy of serious consideration, and on my list.

[Burning Petard]

Job is my favorite book in the Tanakh. I particularly like how the arguments of Elihu are mostly ignored.

I too will look for 'a serious man' I knew nothing of it before this thread.

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