Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 3, 2007 Page: 2 of 32
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Texas Jewish Post
In Our 61 st Year
Spirituality in Spandex
By Rabbi Simcha Weinstein
If you’ve taken public transporta-
tion lately, glanced at a supermarket
magazine rack or simply turned on
the TV, by now you know that one
very popular, web-slinging super-
hero is about to swing back into
your friendly neighborhood multi
plex.
In the third and latest installment
of the Spider-Man movie franchise,
which appears in theatres Friday,
everyone’s favorite arachnid hero is
seduced by his shadow side. As the
Spider-Man motto puts it, “With
great power comes great responsi-
bility," but this time around,
Spider-Man and his good guy alter-
ego Peter Parker discover that it also
comes with great temptations to
evil. Spider-Man is about to go
astray, off the derech.
Spidey’s costume has mysteri-
ously changed from familiar blue
and red to pitch black; in fact, the
costume is actually an alien, shape-
shifting symbiote that feeds on Peter
Parker, making him more aggressive
and less inhibited. Intoxicated with
ego, power and celebrity, not even a
superhero like Spider-Man is able to
resist the forces of darkness.
In “Spider-Man 3,” Parker’s
former best friend Harry Osborne
becomes his worst enemy. Harry
adopts the persona of the villainous
New Goblin, determined to avenge
the death of his father, the Green
Goblin, who Spider-Man defeated
in a previous film.
Our man Spidey is preoccupied
with a vendetta of his own. Police
finally rediscover the identity of the
man who killed Peter Parker’s
unerringly decent role model and
father figure, Uncle Ben: petty thief
Flint Marko. In the longstanding
tradition of comic books, Marko is
a tragic figure: His small daughter
has a deadly disease and he has no
health care benefits. Then a mishap
at an energy test site turns Marko
into Sandman, a nasty, shape
shifting sand-castle. Another new
Spider-Man nemesis is born.
Meanwhile at the Daily Bugle,
Peter the intrepid photographer
encounters new competition in
upstart Eddie Brock. Their over-
bearing boss J. Jonah Jameson pits
the young men against each other,
dangling the promise of one full-
time gig, with benefits, to the best
paparazzi.
Things have come an awfully
long way since Bronx-born, Jewish
comic book pioneer Stan Lee con-
ceived of the character of
Spider-Man in 1962. Many believe
that Lee (born Stanley Martin
Lieber) gave his creation a some-
what Jewish world view. After all,
Peter Parker is a dark-haired,
bespectacled, Woody Allen-esque
rubbish burdened with stereotypical
Jewish neuroses.
Now, living in Queens does not
make a person Jewish (no matter
how many lews live in Spidey’s
Forest Hills neighborhood) but we
can still draw some biblical reflec-
tions from the latest saga, with its
strong father-and-son theme. The
great 13th-century Jewish scholar
Nachmanides famously taught that
“the actions of the fathers are a sign
for the children.” Through the Bible
we see that the deeds of the earliest
May 3,2007
Pop Culture
It's all in the eye: Look closely for Jewish symbols in the new Spider-Man movie, including this photo.
Photo: wwwspotlightdesign com
characters in the narrative will be
repeated by their children. Char-
acter traits and behavior patterns of
the early patriarchs and matriarchs
are a model for all of Jewish history.
Learning from the past is the secret
to making the right decisions about
the future.
According to the Talmud, people
are born with two opposing
impulses: the yetzer hatov, the
impulse to do good, and the yetzer
hara, the impulse to do evil. Jewish
sages have noted that the yetzer hara
is not completely evil, but more like
a selfish impulse, which needs to be
balanced with the yetzer hatov.
Spider-Man’s strange new black suit
and the feelings of unhealthy
empowerment that come with it are
clearly part of the yetzer hara. Fortu-
nately, Spidey’s Uncle Ben helped
form our young superhero’s con-
science from an early age. Sadly,
Harry Osborn, Flint Marko and
Eddie Brook were not blessed with
such a role model. With all his
incredible powers, it is only that
innate, very human sense of decency
that helps our hero ultimately resists
the temptations of the dark side.
The Hebrew word tshuvah means
“return.” Although often mistrans-
lated as “repentance,” the word really
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means returning to the proper path
of infinite potential. By letting go of
our demons, we can embrace the
greatest power of all, the power to
forgive. Will Spider-Man display
true heroism and banish his own
demons in a spirit of forgiveness?
We’ll all find out when he makes his
own long-awaited return this
spring.
Rabbi Simcha Weinstein, author
and frequent talk-show guest, is
the founder of the downtown
Brooklyn Jewish Student Foundation.
Rabbi Stmcha can be reached at
www.rabbisimcha.com.
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ffi Community Spotlight
RHEA FAY FRUHMAN
THE FRUHMAN FAMILY
On Sunday, June 3, the Fruhman Family will be honored at the dedication of the Fruhman Family
Conference Center, part of the new additions to the Wertzman Family Jewish Leadership Center
Rhea Fay Fruhman was bom in Alexandria. La, in 1911 She married Leo and came to Dallas
in 1929 They were owners in the Rhealee Women's Millinery Shops for many years before starting
Consolidated Handbags They hod one son, Leonard Fruhman
Rhea is a member of numerous congregations and was honored by the Temple Emanu-EI
Sisterhood in the Hall of Fame
Mrs Fruhman provides financial support to many charitable organizations She is particularly
fond of chanties that help children Among the organizations she contributes to include Children's
Medical Center. Texas Youth Commission, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas El Centro
College (the Leonard Fruhman Library). Temple Emanu-EI (the Leo and Rhea Fruhmon Children s
Educational West Wing)
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Wisch, Rene & Wisch-Ray, Sharon. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 3, 2007, newspaper, May 3, 2007; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth755768/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .