Arts & Entertainment The New Clergy from page 39 denominations will be able to identify with the characters and their struggles:' Alpert declares. "These are more human stories than denominational stories:' Rabbi Shapiro, a big, somewhat awkward, guy with a framed photo of Jerry Garcia, accepts a post with a small, older New Jersey congregation. His enthusi- asm, palpable in the first Shabbat dinner he prepares with his preg- nant wife, proves as valuable as his knowledge of prayer and scripture. "Yerachmiel's story is almost a coming-of-age story:' says Alpert, who lived in Israel from ages 15-30 and majored in film at Tel Aviv Uthversity. "He's heimish, and you want to reach out and pinch his cheek. He's just a nice Jewish boy trying to do the right thing. "Shmuly's story is about a religious leader trying to define a new path that combines social justice and traditional rabbinic roles." Shmuly Yanklowitz, a year or two behind Yerachmiel in school, goes to Postville, Iowa, in the middle of the Agriprocessors scandal to help the illegal immi- grants employed by the kosher meatpacker. He later heads to Southern California to assist with a wildfire relief effort. "One of the main themes of The Calling is modernity and faith, and how these two things The Three Faiths from page 39 co-exist in American society:' Alpert says. "Chovevei Torah, to my mind, is the most interesting place. They're trying to bring the 'modern back into Modern Orthodoxy." One of the most compelling aspects of the series is the way it shifts between characters, invit- ing us to witness the hurdles, real-world problems and self- doubts that each of the seven men and women encounters. We may not be familiar with the details and rituals of every reli- gion, but we come to respect each individual's urge to serve and their extraordinary humanity. Alpert reveals that one docu- mentary funder proposed sepa- rating the denominations into different hours instead of one integrated whole. The advantage of Alpert's approach is that audi- ences are exposed to a range of religions rather than just tuning in to see their own. "I fought back pretty rigor- ously against that [suggestion];' Alpert says. "It's about the inter- weaving of the different faiths. How much is the Catholic com- munity going to be interested in Orthodox Jewry? "These are American stories. Keeping what is meaningful in the traditional ways and fully embracing the modern world is a tension we can all relate to:' ❑ The Calling airs 9-11 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 20-21, on Detroit Public Television-Channel 56. To learn more about the film and outreach activities, go to pbs.org/the-calling. is why the Ethiopian gospels will grab your attention — they're like nothing else around them. Completed in 1722, the Ethiopian Christian bible fea- tures a darker-skinned Jesus and his disciples, clad in ruby red robes, as Jesus preaches to onlookers. A mustard sky melt- ing into orange surrounds them, while a verdant green tree sits behind them, just off a cliff. It seems to capture what every- thing in this section, and this show, is about: All three faiths are dependent on divine revelation, expressed through their prophets. And yet it is through the spread- ing of these godly words that diversity begins. Many of the texts on display also are revered ones. But it's worth noting that "revered;' in this exhibit, has no clear meaning. For believers, a book's rever- ence stems from its connection to the Divine; but for secularists, it's based in the rarity of the text itself. Still, whatever point of view you take, many of these texts are downright magnificent. There is a copy of a Bomberg Talmud from 16th-century Venice, historic for standardizing the commentaries that are still in use today. Then there is the entire eight-foot-long Scroll of Esther from Amsterdam, completed in 1686; its display at the New York Public Library is one of the only times that all the fragments have been united in recent history. And last, there is the Gutenberg Bible, from 1455. If there is an item that stands as the symbol of the infor- mation revolution, it is this. Hard drives be damned. But the curators, mostly scholars, missed a real opportu- nity. The four themes that they chose to highlight as points of convergence are crucial ones. But many more are left out, and had only a few more challenging ones been included, the hoped- for effect of mutual understand- ing might have been more likely to have been achieved. It is not about stirring the pot, either. It is about being honest. Each religion's canonical books contain passages, for instance, that are doctrinaire and draco- nian. Many riff on the theme of religious supremacy: Jews with their "chosen-ness," Christians with their saved-and-damned, Muslims with their jihads against all non-believing infidels. Though this point is not mentioned in the exhibit, there should have been room made for it. Or, for that matter, there should have been space for the larger argument that monothe- isms of any kind can be perfect ballast for extremism: If there is only one God — Elohim, Jesus, Allah or what have you — and yours is not mine, that can be a A portion of a New Testament from Rome, 1560, illustrated by the artist Guilio Clovio and his followers and depicting Jesus giving his Sermon on the Mount A biography of the Muslim prophet Muhammad, Istanbul, 1594 recipe for disaster. We have much to thank Abraham for, but also much not to. ❑ "Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam" is on view through Feb. 27 at the New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue. (212) 930-0825. Jews ow- 01211 . 111 I Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News his Round 1 The boxing film The Fighter and the .12 cl) comedy How Do You Know are set to 111111111 11 open on Friday, Dec.17. Fighter is based on the true story of Mickey "Irish" Ward, a poor Boston boy who won the welterweight title in 1997 and had some incredible come- backs from injuries. Mark Wahlberg plays Ward. Amy David Russell Adams plays 40 December 16 ' 2010 Mickey's strong-willed girlfriend, with Christian Bale as Mickey's brother/trainer. The film is directed by David 0. Russell, 52, whose most successful film was Three Kings (1999). My favorite Russell film, however, is the 1996 comedy Flirting With Disaster in which Ben Stiller played the adopted son of a Jewish couple looking for his birth par- ents. Russell is the secular son of a Jewish father and an Italian Catholic mother. Intelligent Comedies For more than 40 years, director/ writer James L. Brooks has set the standard for the best in intel- ligent comedy – although sometimes he doesn't rise to his own standard. Brooks, 70, began in TV, creating Room 222, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, James Brooks Lou Grant and Taxi. In 1987, he made his first of his six films to date – three have been huge hits: Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets. In 2004, he stumbled with the so-so Spanglish starring Adam Sandler. For years, most critics said that director/writer Nancy Meyers, 61, (Something's Gotta Give, It's Complicated) made "Brooks-like" romantic comedies that were good – but didn't quite match Brooks' wit or profundity. However, in the last decade, Meyers has had four hits in a row and the question, now, is whether Brooks can rise again over "the Meyer." Brooks' How Do You Know cer- tainly has "hit" star power, and we'll just have to see if it is a return to form. Reese Witherspoon plays a pro softball player involved in a roman- tic triangle. Her suitors are a major league pitcher (Owen Wilson) and a corporate exec (Paul Rudd, 41). Jack Nicholson plays Rudd's father. E.