Let Charlton Heston Go! 

By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer 

The famed, respected actor has fulfilled his mission on Earth. 
Now it's time for those who consider the Bible to be more than a 
story book to reclaim it 

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0408/heston.php3
April 15, 2008

There is so much misinformation, distortion and just plain ignorance 
out there today when it comes to Jews and their knowledge of 
Judaism and the Torah. 

Of course, one of the main reasons for this sad state of affairs is 
that most young Jews today are simply not getting a solid Jewish 
education. And this is true even in Israel, where you would think 
that they would at least know the basics - living as they do in the 
Holy Land. 

A former Israeli Minister of Education once went in to a public 
school in Tel Aviv to test the students' knowledge of the Bible. 
He asked one girl, "Do you know the Aseret Hadibrot [the Ten 
Commandments]?" To which the girl responded, "Sorry, but I never 
saw that seret (she thought he was asking about a seret, the 
Hebrew word for movie)". Pretty sad, eh? 

But I think that another major factor is contributing to the abysmal 
ignorance of an entire generation of young Jews. Many of them 
(and many of us) are getting a Jewish education - only that they 
are getting it in distorted form from Hollywood and the media. 

I speak from first-hand experience. 

Last year I was teaching a class on campus and made reference 
to the Mormons. Three students called in out in unison, "Oh yeah, 
I know the Mormons ... I saw that South Park episode ... " 
Is watching South Park how the next generation is getting 
informed about world religions? 

And how many Jews now consider themselves experts in the very 
complex field of Jewish medical ethics because they saw a 
ridiculous Grey's Anatomy episode about the religious girl who 
refused a pig valve transplant because it's not kosher??? 

Now, this is not to say that there aren't serious students of religion. 
Of course there are. But there's no doubt that the masses are 
being impacted negatively - if unknowingly - by these distorted 
depictions. 

Probably the greatest culprit of all - which has caused a distortion 
of Judaism of Biblical proportions - is the 1956 film The Ten 
Commandments directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring 
Charlton Heston (may he rest in peace) as Moses and Yul Brynner 
as Pharaoh. I would think it's safe to say that most Jews' primary 
knowledge of the Exodus from Egypt and the Receiving of the 
Torah at Mount Sinai comes from that movie. 

Which is kind of tragic - especially since Cecil B. DeMille 
apparently never consulted the Bible before making the movie! 

Ask most Jews today, "Who did G-d give the Torah to at Mount 
Sinai?" They will likely reply, "G-d gave the Torah to Moses." 
"And what were the Jewish people doing while Moses was 
receiving the Torah?" ... ... "Worshipping the Golden Calf." 
That may be how it happened in the movie - but the version found 
in the Torah is quite different. 

The Torah's claim is that the entire people heard G-d speak at 
Mount Sinai, experiencing national revelation. G-d did not just 
appear to Moses in a private rendezvous; He appeared to everyone, 
some 3 million people. 

And this seemingly small piece of "misinformation" about what 
the Bible really says has some really huge ramifications. 

Another major mistake most Jews make about the Exodus - and 
for which we have to thank Director DeMille - is that we think 
Moses said to Pharaoh in the name of G-d "Let My people go!" 
After all, that is what Charlton Heston said to Yul Brynner in the 
movie. But it is not what the original Moses said to the original 
Pharaoh way back in ancient Egypt! Rather, he said 
"Let My people go ... so that they may serve Me" 
(see Exodus 7:16) 

"So that they may serve Me" ??? Did I catch that correctly, 
Rabbi? Do you mean to tell me that according to the Book version 
the freedom that the Jews enjoyed during the Exodus - and about 
which we celebrate till this very day on the holiday of Passover - 
wasn't merely freedom from slavery and building pyramids but 
was actually the freedom to go and serve G-d and spiritually 
grow through the 613 commandments that He gave us 49 days 
later at the foot of Mount Sinai??? No one ever taught me that in 
Hebrew School!!! 

You see my point with all this, I hope. Clearly, if we are to educate 
ourselves and our kids about Torah and Judaism, the movies are 
simply not the best way to do it. We need to go to the source to 
find out what freedom really is - and isn't. 

Passover is a few days away. It celebrates liberation and freedom. 
So it's a good time for all of us to let Charlton Heston go ... 
to liberate ourselves from the media-driven distortions and 
self-imposed ignorance that shackle us down and limit us as 
Jews - and to start learning about our beautiful history and 
religion in a more sophisticated and informed manner. 

This way, we will raise a generation of proud, educated Jews - 
something we need now more than ever.