Pericopa săptămânii, iudaism și Tora

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!

At the beginning of this past week, the world stood still for a short while. Millions of people worldwide were tuning in to the live broadcasts and social media feeds, hooked onto the words of the announcers: “And the Oscar goes to…” Red carpets, fancy dresses, surprise appearances and, of course, the remarks, thank you’s and tears of the award recipients themselves — all are part of a tradition that goes back decades. The first Academy Awards, better known as “The Oscars” go back to 1929, where the first nominations and prizes were given out during a private event at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, with only 270 people in attendance. Today, the same event catches the attention of thousands of people in the live audience and millions more who tune in from every corner of the world.

In 1957, a movie created just one year prior got nominated for the Oscars in seven categories, and ended up winning the Best Effects & Special Effects Award. It is this movie that connects the Oscars this week with — believe it or not — our week’s parsha. In truth, the connection is not very hard to spot at all, because the name of the movie is… yes, you guessed it: “The Ten Commandments”, directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The special effects, for which the movie actually won the Oscar back then, were revolutionary for its time: the parting of the Sea of Reeds, the Revelation at Sinai, the pillar of fire, the angel of death scenes and the composites of the Exodus — all were created using techniques that would be employed in filmography for years to come. citește mai mult…