Some days it’s just plain fun to work at Behrman House. This was one of those days.
Summer day in August 2008: the Coen Brothers call us out of the blue. You know them: No Country for Old Men, Fargo, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona. They’re making a movie, they said. Set in the 1960’s, they need props to “dress” the set of a synagogue from that time period, including the rabbis’ offices and the classrooms.
Why call us? Why Behrman House? How did they hear of us? I'm not really sure. I’m told the set decorator said “We asked around and everyone sys you’re the people to call.” Maybe they asked some of our friends in the field. (Maybe they asked you.)
So, we asked, what's was the movie about? (We were curious, and we wanted to know how our books would be used. After all, we remember that woodchipper in Fargo.) But they wouldn’t show us the script (we asked). They eventually told us the storyline and good news: no woodchippers anywhere.) So off we sent seven cartons, filled with everything they asked for: “30 of the traditional prayer books in 1960 hardcover and 30 of the Practice, Drill and Review softcover workbooks from 1966. We are also interested in as many linear feet of the appropriate books that you could provide…. In addition could we borrow your wooden and brass menorah, a Behrman House 1960's catalog, and miscellaneous Behrman House promotional materials from the sixties.”
So, when was the last time you ordered your books in linear feet???
And then we waited for the movie’s release.
And so it was, last weekend, that Vicki and I went to see A Serious Man. I almost don’t know the story line—I was too busy looking at bookshelves, on walls, and in the rabbis’s offices for materials that we had sent in. (“Was that Rabbi’s Bible?” “Did you see our wall poster?” “Was that…no, it wasn’t?”) I’m going to have to go see the movie again.
My only disappointment is that our new materials—the modern, colorful, engaging books we put out today, not to mention our software—couldn’t be included. It would, after all, look a bit odd to have a high end PC and CD-ROMs sitting on the desk of a 1960’s era educator.
You may have seen our movie contest which is still under way. With the publicity over the movie, and our community’s awareness of which movie our books are in (Spoiler Alert), one of the questions is now moot. But you can still answer the others—so take a look, and see if you can win free movie tickets!
Thank you for your support and encouragement, which has been so strong over the years. Our commitment to you—to lead the field, to be here to help you, and to make your educational program as effective and as fun as we can, is as strong as ever. Maybe that’s why the Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently described us as “the country’s primary supplier of books for religious schools.” Please keep in touch, and let us know how we can help you as we move from strength to strength.
And when the next movie producer calls, we’ll be sure to let you know.
—David E. Behrman
