LIPA CHARLIE CHAPLIN PURIM AND US

                     Dave Sharper

         Yeah, I know. That is a rather strange title I put up there. isn't it?

"What in the world (you are probably asking yourself) do all these random things have in common with each other?"

Well, its interesting, because I was actually also wondering the exact same thing until early this morning.

This morning, I stumbled upon a article on C.O.L. Live, (The big Chabad website) about a new video by Danny Finkelman.

The video, as C.O.L. Live describes it, is "A leap back in time." 
What I found really interesting in the video, was how it actually brings one back in time, to the early age of cinematography. 
It is filmed in black and white, and features costumes reminiscent of the early 20th century fashion of dress.
Additionally the acting by Lipa Schmeltzer is purposefully very stilted and dry so as to further give us that early stilted slapstick Charlie Chaplin kind of humor.
And it works.
We feel ourselves traveling back in time to a different era.
We then have Tzvika Bornstein, actually playing the part of Charlie.

As the video progresses we move on from one comic scene to the next, with Lipa riding a bike, giving all his mishloach manos away to an old vagabond, meeting up with Charlie Chaplin and his team of young street musicians, getting chased by a angry policeman, and finally we end up at a purim party with lots of different  people of all ages. 
We than have the megilla laining-aka-rapping, by Lipa Schmeltzer, who is then joined in by the famous Jewish rapper Ari Lesser. 
At first the elderly people are shocked and slightly disturbed in fact, by the rapping.
But they quickly warm up to the rap tunes and begin dancing and enjoying themselves.

Now, getting back to the title.. 
 What I think is really  the main message over here that Danny's trying to convey to us, is  the idea of outsides being just a facade or a shell, if you will, for the inner reality. The concept is about how all of the outer appearances of our religousness, our clothing, and everything else going on around us are all just superficial costumes and masks of this reality.
The one thing that is real and remains constant throughout all time is that God is always watching out for us from behind the curtain, so to speak.
It is in fact, those  same miracles that god did way back then, that god is secretly still doing for us right now as we speak. He is doing these miracles for all of us, no matter who we are.
 Because God loves us all dearly. 
He always has, and always will.
We often don't feel it or see it. True.
But that connection to god is always there, nonethe less.
And in fact Lipa himself said about the video. 
"Sometimes, we only feel this connection to god, by Neilah at the end of Yomkippur. But the truth is were always connected, even if we dont see it, and this is the message of purim. God is always there for us."

And this, I beleive, is also a theme that Charle Chaplin has always conveyed. Through his timeless acting and silent humor he conveyed a message of timelesness of the human condition. We still relate to his humor now, in 2014, because he captured something timeless about our lives. 
These comedy sketches and skits which he created about happenings in our day to day lives is something that we all can relate to.

But what Charlie may not have known or realized as he sat down to write these sketches, is that God is actually orchstrating things always, and he is the reason behind all the human emotions and challenges that he had acted out so well.

Now the reason Charlie may not have known or been aware of this, is because god has chosen to remain in hiding behind this curtain.

And so, that my friends, is what all of these things have in common.

  All those outer layers and appearances that we show out, wether we look like Charlie Chaplin, or Lipa Schmeltzer, or whom ever else it may be that we choose to identify with, it doesn't really matter.
God loves us all.
And now this Purim, as we all go about celebrating and being joyous together, let us not forget this main purpose of purim to celebrate "The big reveal" of god always having been there for us all. 
And being there for us right now as we speak.
Danny, job well done!








                                                                      

                                                             

Here is a link to to the new Lipa Schmeltzer video "THE REVEAL".