vindy.com | Rabbi directs holiday drama

Friday, September 23, 2011

Photo by: William D. Lewis

Photo

Cast members of the dramatic reading of “Who Shall Live ...?” rehearse their parts under the guidance of Rabbi Franklin W. Muller of Congregation Rodef Sholom in Youngstown. From left are Debbie Heiman, Steve Baroff, Arthur Greenbaum and Pamela Dutro.

The dramatic reading “Who Shall Live ...?” zeroes in on the randomness of life.

Rabbi Franklin W. Muller selected the presentation as a powerful prelude to the upcoming High Holy Days. “I hope it will get people in the frame of mind to think about what we’re supposed to be thinking about,” he said of the time of self-reflection and repentance.

Rosh Hashana, the new year, begins at sundown Wednesday and concludes 10 days later with the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur.

“Who Shall Live, Who Shall Die,” a poignant and thought-provoking prayer, is central to the High Holy Days. It focuses on the “capricious nature” of life, said Rabbi Muller of Congregation Rodef Sholom.

The new year of 5772 is a time to reflect on one’s deeds and life in the year past and Yom Kippur, a time of asking forgiveness for one’s sins. Traditionally, God decides one’s destiny on Rosh Hashana and it is sealed on Yom Kippur, Rabbi Muller said. “But repentance, prayer and charity can change the severity of the decree,” he said, citing the prayer’s conclusion.

Rabbi Muller said modern thought is that “God doesn’t decide for us. We create our fate by the choices we make."

He said the synagogue has had various programs in conjunction with the Selichot service the Saturday before Rosh Hashana. “I wanted to beef it up ...

especially this year,” the rabbi said, referring to the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The four characters in the dramatic reading, two men and two women, are Jewish, and the presentation begins with memories of family observances of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. But the reading features universal problems and emotions experienced by individuals and families. The characters ponder “why bad things happen to good people" and “why good things happen to bad people.”

The dramatic reading, through memories and experiences of the characters, confronts domestic violence, sexual abuse, divorce, drug abuse, infertility, emotional trauma and maintaining and losing faith in God.

Rabbi Muller said “randomness of fate” is the essence of the “Who Shall Live” prayer. The play, he said, “recasts 9/11 as a random act of horror.”

Scene six of the reading revolves around “random acts” on Sept. 11, 2001, that saved the life of one of the male characters and sealed the fate of the sister of a

female character. A lost button on a shirt forced the businessman to be later than usual getting to work that fateful day. For the other person, pushing the wrong button on an alarm clock got her to work earlier.

The final scene centers on questions with the gist being “who shall live by chance and who shall die by chance.” It ends with a plea to God to show mercy and kindness.

“Who Shall Live ...?” is a dramatic reading by Jeff Bernhardt, a Jewish educator, communal service professional and writer and licensed clinical social worker. The title is taken from a prayer central to the High Holy Days that portrays various fates.

What: The seven-scene presentation lays the groundwork for the self-reflection of Rosh Hashana, which begins at sundown Wednesday. Non-Jews also can appreciate the message of the randomness of life, especially the scene pertaining to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.

When: The play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Strouss Social Hall of Congregation Rodef Sholom, 1119 Elm St., Youngstown. Small-group discussions will follow. The evening will end with a Selichot service. The free program that is open to the public is a joint effort of Temple Beth Israel in Sharon, Pa., and Rodef Sholom.

Characters: Arthur Greenbaum plays David, a married man in his 50s who faces infertility with his wife, is a partner in a New York City investment firm and a Reform Jew. Pamela Dutro plays Rhonda, in her 40s, raised in an Orthodox family and sexually abused as a child. Steve Baroff plays Michael, in his 30s, raised as a Conservative Jew and dealing with long-term effects of drug use. Debbie Heiman plays Laura, in her late 20s, who was raised as a fundamentalist Christian, converted to Judaism and lost her sister and her faith Sept. 11. They present interwoven monologues. Greenbaum and Baroff are from Rodef Sholom, and Dutro and Heiman are from Beth Israel.

On the Web: A video at www.whoshalllive.com uses contemporary events to dramatize the “Who Shall Live” prayer.