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Kaddish
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| Series: | The X-Files |
| Original Airdate: | 2-16-97 |
| Production Number: | 4x12 |
| Date(s): | FICTIONAL YEAR OR DATE(S) OF EVENTS IN EPISODE |
| Written by: | Howard Gordon |
| Directed by: | Kim Manners |
A hate crime leads to a disturbing series of murders that may involve a being from Jewish folklore bent on revenge...
Contents |
Summary
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BEN ZION CEMETERY
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
WEISS RESIDENCE
WILLIAMSBURG, NEW YORK
BRUNJES COPY SHOP
1525 AVENUE J
PARK STREET SYNAGOGUE
TWENTY-FIRST PRECINCT HOLDING AREA
JUDAICA ARCHIVES
UPPER EAST SIDE MANHATTAN
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Background InformationEdit
- Isaac Luria, born on 6/10/71, lived at 1934 Avenue B, Brooklyn, NY. Scully says that this address is in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, but Luria's address and that of the print shop are both located in another neighborhood about 10 miles away, called Midwood.
- Dedication at end of episode states "In Loving Memory: Lillian Katz", Howard Gordon's grandmother.
- The character Issac Luria is named for Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, also known as the Ari ("the Lion"). Luria lived in Safed, in what is now northern Israel, in the 15th century, and became legendary as a result of his mystical writings. Most of what is today called Kabbalah is based on his teachings.
- The Hebrew prayers featured in this episode are real, but recited incorrectly. The actors use modern Sephardic pronunciation, which is employed by most Jews in Israel and the diaspora. Hasidic sects like the one featured in this episode, however, are among the few that still employ the Ashkenazi pronunciation, which differs in several noticeable ways, particularly in its pronunciation of the letter "taf" which is a "t" in Sephardi but an "s" in Ashkenazi. This is apparent, for instance, in the Kaddish prayer which opens the episode, in which the first word is pronounced "yitgadal" ("become great"), whereas Hasidic speakers would pronounce it "yisgadal".
- The Sefer Yitzirah ("Book of Creation"), which figures heavily in this episode, is a genuine Kabbalistic text. It is one of the oldest Jewish mystical writings in existence, dated by some to the 1st or 2nd century CE, and is considered the most important book of the Kabbalah next to the canonical Sefer HaZohar ("Book of Radiance").
- In an early draft of the script the Anti-Semitists were black to mirror the actual situation in Brooklyn which involves tension between Orthodox Jews and their African-American neighbors.
- The episode title, "Kaddish" is the name of a traditional Jewish mourning prayer that is repeated daily for thirty days for a relative or spouse, or eleven months for a parent, following the day of burial. The prayer is also repeated on the anniversary of death. A mourner recites the Kaddish and a minyan (prayer-quorum) responds in unison with appropriate phrases. The minyan consists of at least ten Jews (traditionally, Jewish men) who have passed their Bar Mitzvah (usually age thirteen). "Kaddish" is also the title of episode 72/5-17 of Homicide: Life on the Street.
- Issac Luria is named after the famous rabbi of the same name, who is regarded as the father of Jewish mysticism. His initials in hebrew are "ha ARI" (Ashkenazi Rabby Issac), means "the lion".
NotesEdit
Golem Isaac Luria is presumed to have returned as a Golem, which, in Jewish folklore, is a being created for a purpose, often to defend or avenge. However, the supposition Mulder puts forth that this is Luria returned from the dead is one of several departures from the legend of the golem, which is made from clay or mud and activated by inscribing a holy word on the creature's forehead, either one of the names of God or the Hebrew word for truth (Emet). It could be stopped by erasing the word. This explains the significance of the word that appears on the corpse's and the golem's hand (another departure from the legends). In yet one more variation, Jacob suggests that Ariel (or the power of her love alone) raised the golem, when, in fact, is an ability reserved for the wisest and holiest rabbis.
It became frustrating for the production to get the mystical Jewish book to burst into flames on cue, during the graveyard scene with Mulder and Scully. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson spent hours working with the second unit on that particular and brief scene, but their experience became one of the best moments on the season's gag reel.
The mystical Jewish book that had to burst into flames refused to do it on cue. When it finally did, it burned with a sudden flame so huge that David Duchovny had to fling the specially rigged book to the ground and dash out of camera range.
GoofsEdit
The actress playing Ariel mispronounces a Yiddish word for father: Tate. She pronounces it "Taht ay". The correct pronunciation is either, "Taht eh" or "Taht ee".
The book that Mulder finds in Isaac Luria's grave bears a Hebrew (or possibly Yiddish) inscription on the book cover. This means that it's written and bound opposite to the direction of English language books. Therefore, the name is inscribed on the back cover, not the front. (If it were an English-language book, the inscribed cover would be the front.) Correction: The book is bound and signed correctly. When it is shown for the first time, Mulder simply holds it upside down. When camera focuses on the signature (name of the owner) we can clearly see that it is placed along the lower margin of the cover. Had the book been bound on the left (i.e. like in books using Latin alphabet) the signature would have been inverted.
After Ariel invites Mulder and Scully into her home the camera pans across a room filled with people and a red dot appears on the wall and seems to move with the camera until it disappears on Mulder's back.
Links and ReferencesEdit
Guest StarsEdit
- Harrison Coe as Isaac Luria
- George Gordon as a Detective
- David Groh as Jacob Weiss
- Timir Karabilgin as Tony Oliver
- Jabin Litwiniec as Clinton Bascombe
- Justine Miceli as Ariel Luria
- Murrey Pabinovitch as the 1st Hasidic Man
- Channon Roe as Derek Banks
- Jonathan Whittaker as Curt Brunjes
- David Wohl as Kenneth Ungar
ReferencesEdit
arsenic; arsene gas; Book of Creation; Brooklyn; golem; Hasidic Jew; hate crime; Hebrew; reanimation; resurrection; Rosenbaum, Jacob; spontaneous combustion; neo-Nazi
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