Impactful message from Shtisel

 

This blog entry must be read with my previous blog. The last episode of season 2 of Shtisel is to me very impactful and delivers a powerful universal message. 

So in the story, the artist son of the Orthodox Jewish family, Akiva, painted a picture of a young mother carrying a baby. The painting was a success and the gallery owner arranged a TV interview prior to his exhibition. When asked on air, Akiva said it was from memory of his deceased mother. Back home his father in a rage hit him for disgracing the family in exhibiting his mother in public. This was because the lady in the painting did not cover her hair totally as was expected of married Orthodox Jewish women. Akiva was flabbergasted because the lady in the painting was not a portrait of his mother at all but just his expression of her. Akiva refused to abide by his father's instruction to withdraw the painting from the exhibition.

Perhaps like most other viewers, I was angry with the father for his unreasonableness. However the father related an incident when Akiva's mother cried throughout the night when she discovered she accidentally left a bit of her hair uncovered when attending a family function. The father's love and respect for his wife was touching and heart wrenching.

The father then bought the painting from the gallery at a high price after selling the reserved plot of land where he would be laid next to his wife. At home he held a candle deliberating whether to burn the painting. After much agony he used some paint to cover the bit of hair of the lady in the painting instead.

I will always keep this scene in my memory. Hopefully it will remind me to be more understanding in my dealings with people and not to judge so easily. The way someone thinks and behaves is shaped and conditioned by so many factors, be it in the upbringing, education and past experiences. I must also remember it is hard to rewire a person's character and world view. A valuable lesson learnt from Akiva's father is his willingness to strike a compromise taking into consideration his son's feelings.

"Before you judge someone, walk a mile in his shoes"- Eminem