Hassidic soap opera: What will they think of next?

Hasidic soap opera hopes to

bridge gap

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See more  by clicking here...By Neil Bar-Or)

Aug 14, 2003 | It's got the power struggles, intrigue, love triangles and plot twists of any soap opera. But in the world's first Hasidic "telenovella" -- as soaps are known in Israel -- there are no steamy love scenes and dialogue is peppered with "praise the Lord."

The first half-hour episode of "The Rebbe's Court" aired Thursday on Azure, a new Israeli cable channel focusing on Jewish issues. The show is set in a community of Hasidic Jews in Tel Aviv and portrays a world normally closed to outsiders.....

Comment: The fascination of the non-religious public with the lifestyle and mores of their relgious brothers is an interesting phenomena. This is very apparent when you read Haatretz or The New York TImes, for that matter. The chilonim are drawn to, at the same time as they attempt to steady and protect themselves from the call of the Torah. Hence constant attemtps to reshape the narrative of the religious life in their own image.