Ushpizin

Shalom:

One of Mark and mine favorite movies is called Ushpizin, which means guest.

There is a belief that during this Holy time the spirits our mothers and fathers of the Faith come as guest to our Sukkats. There is even a blessing for that.

Now am I saying we receive ghost?

No. But the Scriptures say: "12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses..." and this would include Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David... who even gather about us, though unseen. (Hebrew 12:1)

But in Ushpizin, these guest...well...you need to watch the movie yourself. It is a powerful, funny and inspiring, a soul stirring film.

The time; now.

The place; Israel.

The setting Sukkot.

Big hearted Moshe (played by Shuli Rand) is down on his luck, so he and his wife Mali (Michal Bat-Sheve Rand )pray passionately for a miracle.

And boy are their miracles.

But with the miracles arrive two uninvited ushpizin, and Moshe and Mali are left wondering...have they really have G-d's flavor, or the test of their devotion?

This movie was a Hanukkah gift from our dear friends Paul and Sarah.

And is so really funny: so many people who have seen this movie say Mark and I are just like Moshe and Mali.

We are humbled by their words.

Shalom friends:
This is Mark, and I thought that I would write all of our friends, both old and new, giving everyone my thoughts on this wonderful movie. Before I start, Laini asked me to inform everyone that she forgot to mention that the movie, Ushpizin, had subtitles. The movie is in Hebrew, but the acting is so marvelous that the subtitles are really not needed. Everyone who watches this movie will be able to easily follow the plot.
As Laini mentioned, Paul and Sarah, friends of ours, bought the movie and gave it to us as a Channukah gift, but the movie sat on our shelf. Truth be told, we forgot that we had the movie, that is until we told a friend of ours, Tammy, about how G-d blessed us through a check that we received from the Veterans' Administration in June.
From September until this time, I had been looking for work as a teacher, administrator, really anything that would take care of my family. I had not found anything, so I was feeling depressed. Now, those of you who know my Beloved, know that she is a very wise woman. Anyway, one day when I was feeling extremely down, she just told me to go to the local park and pray about our situation. I did as she asked, and when I returned, I told her that I actually felt better. My Beloved told me that as SHE prayed, she could not help, but feel that G-d was going to bless us more than we could ever expect, or imagine. In fact, she said that The Almighty was going to “bless our socks off!” About two months later, the VA sent us a check for about $22,000.
When we told our friend, Tammy, about this miracle, she suggested that we watch the movie "Ushpizin." She said she thought of us as she watched the movie. At that time, we remembered that we owned the movie, so that day we popped the popcorn, poured the Coke, and sat back to watch the movie.
I was mesmerized; the movie did remind me of Laini’s and my life. Like Moshe, I was feeling down and out because ever since I REFRAD, demobilized from the Active Army, I was having trouble finding work. Laini kept reminding me that we were in G-d’s hand and that He was the one we should trust. All in all, I loved the movie, and it is one that I would highly recommend to others.