I was also thinking how Racheli totally gets Akiva. What other woman would wake up in the middle of the night to be painted on an artists whim after a failed painting session? But she's used to manic phases, and knows his temperament.
I can't imagine Nechama liking Shulem enough to go to him. It's one sided there.
I have always liked Lipa. He's constantly backing his wife, and he puts Yossele in his place when the latter has the audacity to say his mother doesn't know what love is. I think she's so hardened that he hasn't seen it in the past years, but she definitely fell for Lipa when they were dating.
I was thinking the fire around Racheli was symbolic of her rising from the ashes or something like that?
I'm pretty optimistic that they can make it work (if the writers let them )
I hope Yossele can save his shidduch, Ruchami lives, and that's the best I can hope for. Shulem is not able to form a solid relationship at this point. I don't really care how Nuchem ends off as I don't like him, though I feel bad for Nechama.
Good point about Rachelli being able to understand Akiva's mood shifts precisely because of her own struggles with moods.
At the end of the failed painting session, when Rachelli said she's going to lie down, feel free to stay or let yourself out...did anyone else think for a second we will see Akiva follow her to her room??
Regarding the triangle of Nuchem, Nechama and Shulem..It's clear Nechama has no feelings for Shulem, nor does she think highly of him as a person. She sees through his facade. But I also do not see what she sees in Nuchem at all. Nuchem is just not a likeable person.
Here's an interesting observation...I think Shulem only started taking an interest in Nechama when he heard she won the lotto and is now a wealthy woman. He first wanted a connection with her because of her money. In time, he grew to appreciate her for her sterling qualities and forgot about the money. Nuchem, on the other hand, got to know her for her beautiful character without knowing anything about the money at all. He appreciated her and was ready to marry her as is. But when he found out about the money, it turned his head and he became greedy.
Nuchem and Nechama may both share a love for classical music, but that's where the similarities end. She is a principled and graceful woman. Nuchem pretends to be a man with refined tastes, but he's really a boor.
Nechama tells Nuchem that she is scared of suddenly coming into a lot of money, that it could destroy a person's life...how ironic that this is the very issue that will probably cause the dissolution of her shidduch.
Ever since he came back. We understood his breakdown from the stress of trying to support his family when his in-laws didn't like him, when he has a heart of gold and is just trying to do the best he can and it's never successful. He's human, that's what I like about him. His breakdown just showed his humanity, but when he came back, he came back with a full heart again. The scene where he sits on the bedroom floor with Ruchami I think is what got me. Ever since he returned, he is constantly giving and thinking of the others and trying to redeem himself even though he still gets the cold shoulder. He could have given in and broken down again and run away again, but he didn't. He's not well liked by his family, but he gives it his 100% anyway. Or tries to. Even if he makes mistakes time and time again.
Coffee, I agree with everything you said about Lipa. He has a heart of gold and that is exactly what Gitty saw in him when they were dating... even though he was out
-of-the-box even then, she realized that he was such a good person. I'm glad the producers allowed us to have that insight into their marriage. It really helps to understand the dynamics that resulted 25 years later.
Also, the assumption here is that she acts this way because she is so bitter and traumatized from the whole Lipa running away saga. But we don't get to see much what she was like before Lipa left. Perhaps she was always like this. She is a woman who wants to- NEEDS to- get her way, always. So, I think she may have "loved" Lipa in the beginning, but that when the youthful passion faded away, she was left with disappointment because he was not what she really imagined herself with- someone who fits in the box and plays by the rules. And it's sad because he never pretended to play by the rules. Even on his first date he took her for a ride in his car, which was definitely not playing by the rules.
I agree that we get to see what he is really like in that scene when he sits on the floor of Ruchami's room and bears his soul. That scene really took me by surprise because in my head I had imagined Lipa to be a monster, especially when all we saw of him was a man who abandoned his family. I would have imagined that when he saw what Ruchami was up to, his reaction would have been terrible rage. What a chutzpah! Instead, he recognized that her actions were the result of all those months of trauma of being the oldest in a household where her father disappeared...and he took ownership and apologized to her. He mended his relationship with her.
But I was also surprised at the way Gitti talked to him when he was in South America. She cried to him on the phone. She was willing to be vulnerable. Their relationship seemed to have been strong even before he ran away. Unlike her friend Malky who seems to have never had a good day with her husband and was happy to be rid of him.
Too bad Yossela is not mature enough to understand that his parents do have a strong bond of sorts, despite what he sees.
I was thinking the fire around Racheli was symbolic of her rising from the ashes or something like that?
I'm pretty optimistic that they can make it work (if the writers let them )
I hope Yossele can save his shidduch, Ruchami lives, and that's the best I can hope for. Shulem is not able to form a solid relationship at this point. I don't really care how Nuchem ends off as I don't like him, though I feel bad for Nechama.
Regarding the fire..I was very confused.. but I think I just got it.
There is this scene where his father is standing in an alley while all of Kiva's paintings of Libbi are burning. And then Kiva wakes up from his nightmare.
So yes, the Phoenix. The fire symbolizes that his old life with Libby is over. And in its place, from the ashes, arises a new baby phoenix. And that new phoenix is Rachelli. It means Akiva is ready to build his new life with Rachelli.
always liked Lipa?
didn't he one day just disappear and abandon Gitty and his family and have an affair and more...?! He is lucky he had a family to come back to.
This. I don't like the way they romanticize Lipa and make him such a wonderful good guy, while downplaying the fact that he abandoned his family and actually cheated on his wife.
They force the viewer to like him, and there seems to be a message that a man cheating isn't that bad, just get over it already Gitty.
I'm not sure there's some hidden meaning in the way Lipa is compared to the way he was. A lot of the characters changed. They grew or learned life's lessons or the writers changed them so they'd fit the new storyline better. Whatever the reason is Lipa comes across as a sensitive caring father and a voice of reason. The way Gitty treats her son if she started a thread on imamother we'd send her for therapy to resolve her own issues and tell her to stop being so selfish and cruel. Yossele isn't responsible for giving her the perfect image she craves and as his mother she is responsible to treat him with respect and understanding. I have a hard time believing a real Jewish mother would be as heartless as Gitty.
You should never know of such things, but when it's truly a matter of life and death, no Rosh Yeshiva would sit back and respond like Rav Soloveitchik did.
(Btw, when I told my husband that Shuli Rand, who plays Rav Soloveitchik, is actually frum in real life, he couldn't believe that a frum person would even play the role of a RY who would be so cavalier with a life and death issue...)
I really don't get what the issue is here. She's in the hospital because she's pregnant and feeling very very ill. She's out of it. Then, the doctors come and tell her she has this terrible medical condition that they have a name for, and that she's going to die unless she gets the abortion right this minute.
I'm sorry, what about this shayla is super hard, and we only need the gadol hador to paskin on it? Isn't this Judaism 101? Is anyone going to be like, "Oh, I think not! She must have the baby! Tell the doctors to take a hike!"
I actually think Yossele is more like his mother, has a little bit of a harsh personality. Besides for the way he reacts to his mother which is normal given the circumstances, I didn't like the way he told Shira what he was thinking, very harsh. His father is a lot warmer.
He reaped what he sowed. He punished Shira Levinson for feeling out of control in his own life (I do sympathize. He knew he wasn't ready to start dating yet) by telling her in the most awful way that he doesn't like her. He burned that bridge.
And then, thinking he's so clever and getting his way, he informs Shira Levy that he's going to make his parents come around to his way of thinking, even if they don't agree with him.
(As a side point, if they wanted us to root for the Romeo/Juliet storyline, they could have made her a bit more likeable. That entire date looked like she had charatah for starting this up again. She never looks happy, always on the verge of some nervous breakdown.)
So he found himself without either of them. I say it will teach him maturity, because Mr. Player is hardly mature in all this. Gitty should have listened to him when he said he wasn't ready to date anyone. I don't know what all the rush was for. I wonder if Tova has a daughter, lol.
He reaped what he sowed. He punished Shira Levinson for feeling out of control in his own life (I do sympathize. He knew he wasn't ready to start dating yet) by telling her in the most awful way that he doesn't like her. He burned that bridge.
And then, thinking he's so clever and getting his way, he informs Shira Levy that he's going to make his parents come around to his way of thinking, even if they don't agree with him.
(As a side point, if they wanted us to root for the Romeo/Juliet storyline, they could have made her a bit more likeable. That entire date looked like she had charatah for starting this up again. She never looks happy, always on the verge of some nervous breakdown.)
So he found himself without either of them. I say it will teach him maturity, because Mr. Player is hardly mature in all this. Gitty should have listened to him when he said he wasn't ready to date anyone. I don't know what all the rush was for. I wonder if Tova has a daughter, lol.
I kind of agree with your comments, though I wouldn't be so harsh on Yossela. I feel he was kind of a victim of circumstances and had no one to guide him. I don't think he meant to "punish " Shira Levinson. I think he just felt so conflicted and she was goading him to tell him how what he is thinking, so he did, without thinking about it beforehand. In a normal circumstance, he would have told his parents, who would have passed it on to the girls family. But his own parents (his mother mainly) didn't take him seriously so he felt trapped.
He told Shira Levi the truth about his mother's opposition because he felt Shira was as committed to him as he was to her. That was his mistake.
I think she will still come around. She has lots of fears...Remember how she kept hanging up the phone on him? So telling her about his mother opposing the shidduch probably triggered those same fears.
I think she has some emotional issues, but mainly we see a very deep fear of rejection.
She felt rejected after date number one because she was told (falsely) that Yossela said no.
Yossela had to work hard to convince her that it wasnt true.
She felt rejected again when Yosssela told her he got engaged (and that's why when he called her at her workplace, she refused to talk to him.)
And now she is rejecting him again because she heard that his mother is opposed to her.
Each time she eventually comes around. So I predict that after Gitty gives her consent, she will come around.
It would be cool if Shira Levi happens to wander into the Weiss restaurant and somehow capture Gitty's heart, (without Gitty knowing who she is) like Chanina did, and as a result, give her blessing on the shidduch. (Though I never saw any females in the restaurant other than Gitty and Malky.)
As far as Shira never looking happy...I think she always looks nervous. I think it comes from her fears. And her fear is one of rejection. Once she feels wanted and liked, her nervousness disappears. When Yossela came to see her at her lab, she seemed calm and happy.
I think Mr. Player was as mature as could be expected, though going to see a girl while engaged to another is really inappropriate. He should have discussed it with a mentor if his parents didn't support him. He was probably too embarrased. He probably wanted to reach out to Shira Levi first because he wanted to check if the feelings were mutual, and it turned into a whole date.
The "rush" was because Menucha was scaring Gitty by telling her that people on the street are talking and the sooner they make a normal shidduch the better. Gitty bought it, hook, line and sinker.
I really don't get what the issue is here. She's in the hospital because she's pregnant and feeling very very ill. She's out of it. Then, the doctors come and tell her she has this terrible medical condition that they have a name for, and that she's going to die unless she gets the abortion right this minute.
That's not the issue at the moment. Almost any Rov could pasken that one.
The issue is whether to allow or even encourage the surrogacy. And once Ruchami seems determined to have a baby on her own, the Rov needs to tell her she can't. Letting Chanina decide this one on his own is really unrealistic.
You know what was ACTUALLY unrealistic? That he finished that painting so fast, lol. That should take at LEAST a few weeks.
There's definitely an element of kfitzat haderech built into the plotline. Ruchami has her IUD removed and poof!- pregnant. One minute Malki was in tears over her husband disappearing and the next she was coming back from bet din with a get. And no kallah ever bought a stunning gown that fit her perfectly in one afternoon like Rachelli.
I really don't get what the issue is here. She's in the hospital because she's pregnant and feeling very very ill. She's out of it. Then, the doctors come and tell her she has this terrible medical condition that they have a name for, and that she's going to die unless she gets the abortion right this minute.
I'm sorry, what about this shayla is super hard, and we only need the gadol hador to paskin on it? Isn't this Judaism 101? Is anyone going to be like, "Oh, I think not! She must have the baby! Tell the doctors to take a hike!"
Maybe the first pregnancy was a simpler question, though even then, most people would ask a gadol for at least a brocha. But for sure another person would have asked a gadol about how to proceed once there was a pregnancy and the woman didnt want to terminate. It's a very sensitive question.
The general rule is that the higher the stakes, the more the need for someone with "big shoulders" to answer the question.
You know what was ACTUALLY unrealistic? That he finished that painting so fast, lol. That should take at LEAST a few weeks.
He could have been working in acrylics. But even in oils, it could be done in a few hours. Bob Ross did his paintings in about an hour I think.
I have a different issue. As a painter, I never understand how artists can paint in their regular clothes, without a smock of some sort. I always manage to get paint on my clothes. Kive paints Rachelli in regular clothes. In his first, failed attempt, he does wear a smock, but has some paint on his white shirt before he even starts.
So about the money...
Nuchem congratulates Shulem on becoming a millionaire. Is he for real? The money is for the cheider, and Shulem isn't personally benefiting from the donation. Does he think its ethical to take money earmarked for tzedaka and pocket it??
It was pretty amazing of Nechama to give the entire sum away to tzedaka, though I'm not sure why she ever bought a lottery ticket if she was so scared of winning.
Shira Levi seems very fragile. Not sure how to describe it. But almost like she has this thing with sadness or pain. The way she described how she felt when she thought she might never see Yossela again. Also, her best friends are flies. She is definitely not regular.
Was there some sort of symbolism with the white beer? She said she found it awful when she tried it. He says, at first its bitter, but with time you get used to it and you even get to like it! Wonder if there was a hidden meaning there.
Anyone else noticed that Nuchem made a loud shehakol on his tuna steak, but then spoke before beginning to eat? Can't believe that went past the producers.
Maybe the first pregnancy was a simpler question, though even then, most people would ask a gadol for at least a brocha. But for sure another person would have asked a gadol about how to proceed once there was a pregnancy and the woman didnt want to terminate. It's a very sensitive question.
The general rule is that the higher the stakes, the more the need for someone with "big shoulders" to answer the question.
True, but Chanina wasn't asking his Rav for a psak on whether or not they should terminate. The doctor said in no uncertain terms that she must, or she will die. He was asking his Rosh Yeshiva on how he should convince her to do what halacha already mandated she should do. Ruchami knows this halacha, and doesn't care.
Do you think a Gadol Hador will understand Chanina or Ruchami? From a telephone call? What the gadol can do is say halacha or not - in this case, halacha is usually pretty clear. But to advise Chanina in how to prevent a suicidal woman from going through with a severely risky pregnancy? And if Ruchami defied doctors, Chanina, and her own parents to get pregnant, why should a third party be able to force her to do what she decided to already do? He doesn't KNOW them. He doesn't understand them the way the Rosh Yeshiva does, who already has a relationship with them.
And as we see, Ruchami is pretty much preparing for her own death, that's how big of a risk she's taking. And she's okay with it, she's accepted it. The Gadol Hador is irrelevant here, in this plotline. And in life, too.
I always say that the fact that our Gedolim no longer see women in their offices/homes for brachos/eitzas has caused a huge rift. But that's neither here nor there.
So about the money...
Anyone else noticed that Nuchem made a loud shehakol on his tuna steak, but then spoke before beginning to eat? Can't believe that went past the producers.
Yes! And then he drank wine without a bracha too!
He should have said hagafen before shehakol and since there were side dishes those would have also been before the shehakol so that whole bracha was one big mess!
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