Occasionally I will rent a foreign film that catches my eye. I never know what to expect when I do this. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised and other times I am utterly disappointed. Ushpizin happened to be one of those films that was not only pleasing to watch, but also got the wheels in my brain turning. I like those kind of movies. I like to think.
The story revolves around a married couple Moshe and Mali, a childless, Orthodox, couple. On the eve of Succoth, the festival of booths they find themselves penniless and hiding from the landlord who is looking for the rent- a circumstance many of us have found ourselves in one time or another.
After fervent prayers from both husband and wife a mysterious gift is shoved under their door. Money, and lot's of it! It seemed as though their prayers had been answered when an even greater blessing appeared on their doorstep or so it seemed. Ushpizin's, also known as holy guests are considered to be lucky; however, these two ushpizin's happed to be escaped convicts from Moshe's secular past.
At first they are seen as a blessing, but; when their unruly behavior gets out of control the Bellanga's tell a lie to get them to leave. Almost immediately thereafter, they realize that the men were a test, not a blessing and they had failed miserably. Being good Jew's they were quick to make amends and re invited their guests to the succah. From that moment on things took a real turn. It was obvious that their change of heart made all the difference in the world and the ushpizin's could see it too.
I don't want to spoil the end of the movie for anyone who might want to see it, so I'll leave things here.
Before I add my own commentary on the film and how it affected me I'd like to add an interesting note. Shuli Rand, the actor who played Moshe, was a retired stage and screen actor. Much like his character he also had become an Orthodox Jew and put his old self behind him. He was very careful to work under the strict direction of a rabbi who stated no actor could be hired to play his wife, therefore; his own wife played the part of Mali and turned out a superb performance. Their real chemistry and love for one another truly shone on screen.
My Thoughts This movie really stands apart from most of today's blockbusters because of it's solid story line. Like most of the true classics, Ushpizin relies mainly on it's well developed story and leaves the special effects to those who cannot write. If focuses on charity, faith and true repentance, all things which are far too often left out of todays movies.
Perhaps the thing that struck me the most was that even though this was an Orthodox Jewish film, the message was relevant to Christians as well. This week at Vintage (my super cool church) Albert spoke about Luke 14
1One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" 4But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. 5Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son[a] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" 6And they had nothing to say.
7When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
12Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." The main point of the message was that Jesus called us to reach out to the unsaved, poor, crippled people of this world. We are called to invite them into our homes, to wait on them and break bread with them, looking for nothing in return. In Ushpizin that's just what Moshe and Mali did until things got a little too uncomfortable and they threw the towel in. How often do we do that in our own lives? We start to help somebody and then flake out on them when we realized it's going to be more difficult than we originally thought. We want to jump ship when we realize that we may actually have to *gasp* put our faith in action! (These are mostly Albert's comments, but I agree)
Luckily for Moshe and Mali they realized the error of their ways and immediately repented and I think that is the key. Immediately. The longer it takes for us to realize the error of our ways or choose to do something about it the less likely we are to fix it. "It" becomes water under the bridge and nothing but a forgotten promise of hope to those desperately in need.
Which category do you fit into? Are you the person who never goes outside your Christian circle? Do you invite the unsaved into your life and then fail to follow through? Do you immediately make amends for your wrongs or do you wait until they are water under the bridge and forget about them? What kind of person are you?
I got an e-mail from my Godmother a few days ago telling me all about this great teaching position she had gotten. She loves the job and they love her, but; the only problem is she's white. 
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