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invites you
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lith ANNUAL
SEMINAR
for the entire community
The Bully, the Bullied,
and the Bystander
Sunday, November 6, 2005
6:45 p.m.
Max M. Fisher Federation Building
6735 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills
Featuring internationally recognized speaker,
author and educational consultant
Barbara Coloroso
$5 per person / Coffee and Dessert
For more information, or to sign up
call (248) 642-4260, ext. 375 or e-mail: ferrier@jfmd.org
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GOULISH ANIMATION
from page 63
Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural
(Oxford University Press), in a story
titled "The Finger."
His source was the 17th-century
volume, Shivhei ha-Ari, which collect-
ed earlier stories about the alleged feats
of the real Rabbi Luria. The stories are
hagiographic legends — tales about a
master that show his great powers.
In the corpse-bride narrative, Rabbi
Luria confronts the cadaver, who
accepts his authority. He is a member
of the rabbinic court (the beit din)
that eventually rules against the
corpse, stating that she is not married
because the dead have no claim upon
the living, among other reasons.
The real Luria lived in the 16th
century, but the origin of tales about
nuptials with supernatural entities is
far earlier. Schwartz traces them to a
biblical commentary that suggests
Adam had an insubordinate first wife,
Lilith, who became a seductive
demon.
Later variations on this storyline
include "the forced or accidental mar-
riage of a man to a demon, an attempt
to be free of unwanted vows and a
decision reached by a rabbinical
court," Schwartz wrote-in Lilith's Cave.
The unearthly characters "perhaps
represent the fear of marriage to gen-
tiles and hybrid offspring," he said.
Like the supernatural fairy tales of the
Brothers Grimm (also the subject of a
new movie), the corpse bride of folk
tradition also serves as a cautionary
tale, warning about the consequences
of bad behavior.
"It tells us, 'Be careful, don't ever
take an oath in vain. Don't take it
11 tly,"' said Peninnah Schram, a pro-
fessional Jewish storyteller and associ-
ate professor of speech and drama at
Stern College in New York.
In "The Finger," the wayward bride-
groom gets lucky. After the rabbis rule
against the validity of the corpse's mar-
riage to the careless suitor, the would-
be bride — after emitting one last
shriek — collapses in a pile of bones
and dies, this time for keeps.
The movie has a more Hollywood
kind of ending, with that Tim Burton
twist.
"Tim's characters tend to wear dark-
er colors and some, like the corpse
bride, are no longer living, but they
have a pluck and a spirit that makes
you fall in love with them," August
said.
❑
Corpse Bride opens Friday, Sept.
23, in theaters nationwide.