How do you say “Simpsons” in English?
What would a Jerusalemite do on a hot day in the middle of summer? Just what any self-respecting American would do: go to the movies. As the Harry Potter fever waned slightly, the Simpsons madness set in. So we hailed a cab to the Rav Chen Kolnoa (cinema). The movies here are the same as the movies there, just a little different. Having a rabbi’s perspective inclines me to see things through a more religious and biblical lens. For example, “New Releases” are listed in the newspaper as “B’chorot” - which is like the Hebrew word for “first-borns” i.e. “Makat B’korot” (slaying of the first borns).” The name Rav Chen Kolnoa means something like, “Great grace of the moving voice.” Then there’s the movie itself. When Homer insults the piety and belief of his fellow church members, the Hebrew subtitle read like a verse from the Aleinu prayer that we no longer say: ”they bow down to an empty and false god who can not deliver them.” I consider myself pretty loose on matters of shemot (use of God’s name) but it was a little jarring to see “elohim” on the screen so many times during that and other scenes.
Other differences: at the movies, you get a ticket with a reserved seat (row and seat number on the stub); the usher and ticket-takers carry guns; the doors to the cinema (not just the screening room but the entire building) remain locked until just ten or so minutes before the screening time. There is an intermission between the reels - for smoking of course, but also bathroom and popcorn. The audience really gets into the movie, or at least that was the case with this one. When the Simpsons logo appeared on the screen with its theme music, the audience erupted into applause. When Homer first appeared on screen they celebrated him like the champion gladiator entering the ring. The commercials before the screening, however, were the clearest glimpse into contemporary Israeli culture. One of the best ones had a cabbie talking to American tourists. They want a good place for local food and they speak in loud English with Hebrew subtitles. The cabbie’s English is limited so he motions to them to wait a second and calls into his CB radio (in Hebrew): “How do you say ‘McDonald’s’ in English?”
I think I was the only one to laugh out loud.
