Yes, I have the CD to the original soundtrack to Fiddler on the Roof. I recently DVR’d the movie and decided to watch it this weekend, one I hadn’t watched for many years. It’s a long one (3 hours!), so I watched it in segments.

What I didn’t expect is to develop a greater appreciation for all the references to the Old Testament, or “The Good Book” as it was referred to in the movie. I mean, I remember some of the silly quotes, like “Don’t touch anything”, (as we like to use in our family because it makes us laugh, especially with the accent) and who didn’t try to balance the wine bottle on your head and dance?

Since sometimes it was hard to understand the words, I actually watched the movie this time with closed captioning on. Because of this, some of the words in the songs jumped out to me. Like in the Sabbath Prayer, they pray that their daughters would be like Ruth and Esther (my favorite story). The other song that made me pause was “If I Were a Rich Man”. I remembered the part about building a great big house, but what surprised me was he also really wanted to become rich so he could study “The Good Book” all day and discuss it with others. I found that sad, but relatable, even today, as we stay busy with work, house chores, family activities, but may not take the time to study or spend time with God. We’re all guilty of this, including me.

One moment that struck me was when two characters were saying good-bye, one said, “God only knows when we’ll see each other.” The other responded, “Then let’s leave it in His hands.” I really liked that, but how many times do we really trust God like that? (That’s a whole other topic!)

It was also neat to see some of the Jewish traditions and made me wonder about Jesus witnessing and participating in some of these traditions as He was Jewish. The more we can learn about His life, the more we can appreciate His love for us and sacrifice.

Now go study! And be Rich in the Word!