Puppets with kippahs
Directed straight at national religious audience, new children's disc 'Doll of a Family' seeks to create culture reflecting practicality of every day life at home
The national religious public is in constant tension with the secular population on one hand, and the haredi population on the other. It is even often defined as something in the middle of these two. Until recently, there have been very few cultural products that could be labeled as "national religious" par excellence, directed straight at this sector without sending an acknowledging glance to the secular or the ultra-Orthodox.
Enter disc series "Doll of a Family," the first of which was sold in stores this week.
The first disc focuses on the family, and the songs related to the everyday life of a typical national religious family – on one hand, prayer, Shabbat, Torah study, and on the other hand, shopping with mom, a kite, and the kid's magic room. Not everything is about holiness; not everything has to do with God, and not every action is undertaken for Heaven's sake.
"There are children's discs that walk between the raindrops, and try not to make anyone angry. The central character is always a man, and the issues addressed also somehow tough upon holiness. There is no legitimacy to living, unless it is through holiness. Our disc is not like this," explained Muli Kimmel, the disc's producer.
Images showing everyday life of a religious family (From disc)
"There is a kind of ideal that we educate towards even in high school yeshivas that says everything we do, all the time, is for Heaven. In my eyes, this is incorrect. This ideal is indeed a very nice one, but it isn't realistic. To be connected to Torah is a realistic ideal, but to teach that every minute is Torah and everything we do at any given moment is for the Holy One is not realistic. There is a kind of taboo against saying this. There are perhaps two or three completely righteous men in a generation who successfully direct every single second of their life to God."
Kimmel explains that the disc "A Doll of a Family" is the first in a series of productions aimed at jumpstarting a national religious culture. According to him, one of the problems within the national religious community is a lack of cultural outlets to create a dialogue around the sector's definition. When there is no culture, the only thing left is Torah. And there each person has his own direction that he is entrenched in.
Furthermore, Kimmel claims that culture has the capacity to iron out issues in a less direct manner, through hints that lead to dialogue. "When a problematic issue is raised directly, it is very difficult to discuss. Through culture, a kind of sublimation of the issue can be made in order to soften the approach," he explained.
These are big words, but this is a children's disc.
"First of all, it's a start. But it must also be remembered that everything starts with children, who look for role models to emulate. When there is no unique culture, children are compelled to choose between figures from the secular world, such as singers and television stars, and rabbis from the religious world," Kimmel countered.
"Furthermore, the disc is full of nods to adults. It practically never happens that a child puts in the disc and the family doesn't stick around to watch. I think we successfully created – and please excuse the horrible expression – a disc for the whole family. An adult watching the disc doesn't feel like an idiot, but gets something out of it."
Why did you choose to work with puppets and not actors?
"On principle we did not want to use a known talent or celebrity. Beyond the cult of personality that develops around the star, it creates a problem in the long run. The series is committed to the character, and also to its life. The puppets allow us to portray many different families in song, all the while leaving a connecting thread between them that provides the sense that it is all part of one disc. Of course, it is also easier for children to connect to such adorable puppets."
