Ki Tetze

Ki Tetza – Nathan Abrams

Dr. Nathan Abrams is a Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at Bangor University. He has present at Limmud many times and written widely on Jewish history and culture, including Jews and Sex (2008), Caledonian Jews (2009) and Norman Podhoretz and Commentary Magazine: The Rise and Fall of the Neo-Cons (2009). He has delivered sessions at Limmud Conference for many years. 

In this Torah portion, Moses delivers specific rules about proper family relationships. He continues with laws involving many aspects of daily living, justice, family responsibility, work and sexuality. In terms of my own approach, the standout verse for me is chapter 22: 5, which states: "A woman must not put on man’s apparel, nor shall a man wear woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord your God."

While of course this verse is probably intended to regulate proper sexual behaviour and conduct, in particular the policing of modesty, non-transgression and mimicry of non-Israelite peoples, I was instantly drawn to thinking about the US film The Birdcage (dir. Mike Nichols, 1996), itself an adaptation of the earlier French film Le Cage Aux Folles (dir. Edouard Molinaro, 1978).

In transforming its protagonists from French to American gay men, the remake injects a Jewishness that was missing from the original film. Armand (Robin Williams) and Albert Goldman (Nathan Lane) are a nightclub owner and transvestite diva respectively. They agree to conceal both their gay and Jewish identities, pretending to be straight and Christian, for the sake of the future marriage of their son, Val (Dan Futterman). Albert even masquerades as Val’s birth mother.

Armand and Albert accomplish their transition from Jewishness to Christianity with marked ease: a small name change, the acquisition of a crucifix for the wall and their ‘conversion’ is complete. This is because, in true filmic tradition, although both are explicitly identified as ethically Jewish – Armand wears a Star of David necklace throughout the film – neither exhibits any religious Jewish beliefs or behaviours; indeed, Albert prepares a pork roast for dinner.

The irony is that, as one critic noted, Armand and Albert’s ‘decision to pass as Christian fails to produce even the limited soul-searching about staying true to one’s identity or loyalty to group affiliations that the decision to pass as straight’ produces. Indeed, when all is revealed, there is confusion, with one character (Gene Hackman) thinking that they have confessed to being Jewish not gay: "I don’t understand […] You can’t be. You can’t be Jewish."

Going back to the parshah, given that mimicry and cross-dressing is so important to film one wonders what Deuteronomy would make of that genre in general. Presumably, for its valorisation of homosexuality and transvestism, as well as its limited attachment to Judaism as a religion, and using the rating of the prophet of the film criticism world, Roger Ebert, The Birdcage would receive a Mosaic two thumbs down.