Srugim
Encyclopedia
Srugim is an Israel
i television drama that debuted on June 23, 2008, and deals with the lives of five Modern Orthodox
Jewish
single men and women (two men and three women) in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, from the national religious
sector.
The title comes from the type of Kippah
(skullcap) often worn by members of the Religious Zionist
group the series depicts, the "kippa sruga"—the knitted kippah.
Although a number of areas in Jerusalem appear in the series, its focus is Katamon, the part of Jerusalem that contains a vibrant singles scene referred to by residents as the "swamp" (bitza in Hebrew). Srugim creator Laizy Shapiro explains the derivation of this term from the idea that Judaism is rooted in family and community, so that singles somehow "don't exist," as if they are lost in a swamp.
It was produced by Eitan Abut (supervising producer), with co-producers Jonathan Aroch and Dikla Barkai. Original music was written by Ron Klein, with cinematography by Ram Shweky, film editing by Gilad Ariel and Tal Keller, and casting by Hila Yuval.
In 2010, the series began to air on "The Jewish Channel
," on cable television
, in the United States
.
expert on Orthodox
Jewish portrayals in the media, explains why this series has become popular not only with the secular "TV-watching" community, but also with many members of modern orthodoxy:
He claims that the show is important for both the religious and secular elements, because while many of the modern orthodox viewers can finally see characters with whom they identify, it offers secular views accessibility to "an entire [religious] world that is normally inaccessible”.
A number of writers note that the phenomenon of a growing number of Jewish singles in the religious community is one factor in the show's popularity, because it is unprecedented in Jewish history, where marriages between religiously observant men and women traditionally occurred while both partners were young. Many reasons contribute to this change, including the financial ability of women to live on their own, rather than under the "protection" of their husband, but whatever the reasons, this change has created many new questions and challenges in their lives.
Yair Rosenberg, writes in the Jewish Review of Books
that the program has become "Israeli pop culture
phenomenon." However, while he agrees that the show has become extremely popular among members of both the religious and non-religious communities, there have been some detractors, including Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
:
The Jewish Week
writes that the show "is attracting a growing audience here in the States," and it is being discussed in many forums, including Facebook
.
The series won the 2009 Israeli TV Academy Award for best original drama series.
(four Hebrew letters commonly transliterated into English as YHVH or YHWH).
Complaints from the ultra-orthodox community led to an agreement not only to have the posters taken down, but also that—given the presence of God's name—they would be buried in a genizah
[a burial site for sacred texts], not merely discarded.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i television drama that debuted on June 23, 2008, and deals with the lives of five Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
single men and women (two men and three women) in the Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem, from the national religious
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
sector.
The title comes from the type of Kippah
Kippah
A kippah or kipa , also known as a yarmulke , kapele , is a hemispherical or platter-shaped head cover, usually made of cloth, often worn by Orthodox Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that their head be covered at all times, and sometimes worn by both men and, less frequently, women...
(skullcap) often worn by members of the Religious Zionist
Religious Zionism
Religious Zionism is an ideology that combines Zionism and Jewish religious faith...
group the series depicts, the "kippa sruga"—the knitted kippah.
Plot
The show, described as a "A Modern Orthodox Friends,"...resembles "Friends" in the manner that it revolves around a young group of friends who are trying to establish themselves in the workplace while searching for love. This group of friends includes a graphic designer, an accountant, a biblical studies major, a grammar teacher, and a doctor. What makes the show unique is the fact that all of these friends are observant modern orthodox Jews. Many episodes feature Shabbat meals, men and women davening, and men wearing kippot. The show features the struggles that some of the characters have being religious while trying to date or make a living.
Although a number of areas in Jerusalem appear in the series, its focus is Katamon, the part of Jerusalem that contains a vibrant singles scene referred to by residents as the "swamp" (bitza in Hebrew). Srugim creator Laizy Shapiro explains the derivation of this term from the idea that Judaism is rooted in family and community, so that singles somehow "don't exist," as if they are lost in a swamp.
Main characters
- Yifat (Yael Sharoni)—a graphic designerGraphic designerA graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
, originally from Petah TikvaPetah TikvaPetah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
. She has been described as "the heart of the group"—warm and funny, but not entirely sure of herself. She very much wants to marry and start a family. Yifat is affectionate, caring, giving. A dream wife, her love is a gift to the man who is wise enough to both get it and appreciate it. At the same time, her very good nature seems to prevent her from gaining the strength and fortitude needed to turn away Nati, a man who does not deserve her, who is all take and no give.
- Nati (Ohad KnollerOhad KnollerOhad Knoller is an Israeli actor.Ohad Knoller is the son of journalist Judith Knoller. He is married to actress Noa Raba-Knoller with whom he has a son....
)—a doctor who works at Hadassah Hospital. He seems to have trouble with long-term relationships. He is incapable of love. The key to happiness, Yifat, is right in front of his eyes, but he is too self-centered to see it. He goes to Yifat for emotional support, laundry, meals, but is never once capable of the simplest of gestures, such as offering her a gift, or bringing flowers or chocolate.
- Amir (Amos Tamam)—the only one of the main characters who has been married before, and divorced. He teaches grammar in a religious school for girls. When he informed the Headmistress that he is divorced, she decided that Amir may stay, although normally only married men may teach at the school. Amir is not aggressive. Though he may have been interested for a long time in getting close to Yifat, he would not come forward until it was clear that the relationshiip between Yifat and Nati has ended. He could be more assertive though.
- Hodaya (Tali Sharon)—a student at the Hebrew University, studying Biblical Criticism. She is the daughter of a Rosh Yeshivah, the head of a rabbinical school, and while she begins the series still religious, she is struggling with her level of observance. For example, she avoids speaking with her grandmother when she sees her, because her grandmother does not know that Hodaya has begun to wear pants, something that would not have been allowed in her home. Her struggles intensify when she begins to date someone who is non-religious, but is unable to communicate to him her concerns. During the first season, she makes a living cleaning houses, and in the second season, finds work in a bar.
- Re'ut (Sharon Fauster)—religious, but a religious feministFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
. For example, during the first series she learns how to chant a haftarahHaftarahThe haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
, a portion from the books of the Prophets—but plans to read in a worship service only attended by other females, so as not to transgress a number of religious prohibitions that would prevent her from doing so in a service attended by men. Re'ut, however, is gruff and insensitive, acting strong, when she actually is not. But her strident statements can be hurtful. She should one day taste her own medicine.
- Roi (Uri Lachmi)—Nati's younger brother, a character introduced in the second season, who turns out to be struggling with questions of sexual identity.
Creators
The series was created and is written by Eliezer (Laizy) Shapiro and Chava Divon, a graduate of the Ma'ale School of Television, Film and the Arts. Shapiro also directs the series.It was produced by Eitan Abut (supervising producer), with co-producers Jonathan Aroch and Dikla Barkai. Original music was written by Ron Klein, with cinematography by Ram Shweky, film editing by Gilad Ariel and Tal Keller, and casting by Hila Yuval.
History
Srugim premiered in 2008 on the Israel's YES Satellite network before being picked up by Channel 2, with the first season broadcast on that channel in 2009. The second season began airing in 2010 in HDTV on Yes TV.In 2010, the series began to air on "The Jewish Channel
The Jewish Channel
The Jewish Channel is a cable television channel available on Cablevision, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS, and Cox Cable. Approximately 45,000 households subscribe to the channel.-External links:* *...
," on cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Response and Reviews
Jeffrey Woolf, a Bar-Ilan UniversityBar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
expert on Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
Jewish portrayals in the media, explains why this series has become popular not only with the secular "TV-watching" community, but also with many members of modern orthodoxy:
It's really the first time that the religious-Zionist community has been represented in a non-stereotyped way on television.... Religious characters are usually cartoon-like in their superficiality, either because of malice or because of ignorance....
He claims that the show is important for both the religious and secular elements, because while many of the modern orthodox viewers can finally see characters with whom they identify, it offers secular views accessibility to "an entire [religious] world that is normally inaccessible”.
A number of writers note that the phenomenon of a growing number of Jewish singles in the religious community is one factor in the show's popularity, because it is unprecedented in Jewish history, where marriages between religiously observant men and women traditionally occurred while both partners were young. Many reasons contribute to this change, including the financial ability of women to live on their own, rather than under the "protection" of their husband, but whatever the reasons, this change has created many new questions and challenges in their lives.
Yair Rosenberg, writes in the Jewish Review of Books
Jewish Review of Books
The Jewish Review of Books is a quarterly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs from a Jewish perspective. It is published in New York City....
that the program has become "Israeli pop culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
phenomenon." However, while he agrees that the show has become extremely popular among members of both the religious and non-religious communities, there have been some detractors, including Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
Shlomo Aviner
Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner is the rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva in Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.-Background:Ha-Rav Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner was born in 5703 in German-occupied...
:
One prominent Religious Zionist rabbi went so far as to place the show under a religious ban, citing the questionable conduct of various dati characters on the show. "There is bad language and licentiousness. It is not enough to be shomer negiahNegiahNegiah , literally "touch," is the concept in Halakha that forbids or restricts physical contact with a member of the opposite sex...
[to observe the prohibition against touching someone of the opposite sex], and this is also not always followed [on the show]—one needs purity and modesty," he wrote.
The Jewish Week
The Jewish Week
The Jewish Week is an independent weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. The Jewish Week covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC and has world-wide distribution.-Editorial staff:...
writes that the show "is attracting a growing audience here in the States," and it is being discussed in many forums, including Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
The series won the 2009 Israeli TV Academy Award for best original drama series.
2010 Billboard Controversy
Bus stop posters for the second season of Srugim became the focus of a controversy when it was discovered that the pages of Jewish text used as a background for the poster's images included the Biblical word referred to as the "ineffable name of God," the description used for the TetragrammatonTetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
(four Hebrew letters commonly transliterated into English as YHVH or YHWH).
Complaints from the ultra-orthodox community led to an agreement not only to have the posters taken down, but also that—given the presence of God's name—they would be buried in a genizah
Genizah
A genizah is the store-room or depository in a Jewish synagogue , usually specifically for worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics that were stored there before they could receive a proper cemetery burial, it being forbidden to throw away writings...
[a burial site for sacred texts], not merely discarded.