400 Barrels of Wine – from theatre Ariel in Philadelphia to the Jerusalem Theatre festival
A play by Hadar Galron | Directed by Deborah Baer Mozes
IN SHORT:
400 Barrels of wine – MIDRASH THEATER
Not many women made it into the talmud, and when they did -however great they may have been – it seems their entrance was always through a back door, and ultimately ‘to make a point’.
In “400 Barrels of Wine” – you will get a glimpse at the dramatic peaks in the lives of three talmudic women, whose stories have been twisted so that we can forget how great they really were.
Mad Yalta (the storyteller) came back to prove her sanity, with the help of the stories of Bruriah and Rachel – but in the end it is YOU (the audience-now commentators) who will have to decide… was their plight worth it? and is Yalta Mad or Sane?
An Interactive MIDRASH-THEATER performance
FULL SYNOPSIS:
Not many women made it into the talmud, and when they did -however great they may have been – it seems their entrance was always through a back door, and ultimately ‘to make a point’;
“Look what happens to women who…”
…who try to take mens’ place, in the Bet Hamidrash.
BRURIAH
Strongheaded Bruriah, finds herself caught in a fatal trap created by her husband, Rabbi Meir, who is determined to prove to Bruriah that all women, including herself, are “light-headed”. Even if this takes sending a scholar to seduce his own wife.
…who try to change womens’ status in Jewish law.
YALTA
Yalta was a powerful political figure in her time, could even have been the Reish Galuta if she had been a man. But when she demanded to make a blessing on the wine- that was just too much for their distinguished guest… and she ended up being remembered as “Mad Yalta”.
And look what happens to those who…
…who do ‘the right thing’
RACHEL:
Rachel gives up her wealth and her comfort for the love of a shepherd. Her belief in Rabbi Akiva, and her pushing him to study and develop himself is a lesson taught until today – especially as she was ultimately rewarded…
But can one really retrieve twenty four years of loneliness and hardship? What lesson would Rachel teach young women from her story?
In “400 Barrels of Wine” – Mad Yalta came back to prove her sanity, with the help of the stories of Bruriah and Rachel – but in the end it is YOU (the audience-now commentators) who will have to decide… Was her plight worth it? And is Yalta Mad or Sane?
An Interactive MIDRASH-THEATER performance
Cast – Three women and one man, who fills in all the male roles.
Hadar Galron – YALTA,
Alana Gerlach – BRURIAH,
Lois Abdelmalek – RACHEL,
Robby Hutter – RABBI MEIR, KALBA SAVUA, REB ULLA
COLLABORATION: After seeing Hadar with her stand-up cabaret “Passion Killer” (on Zoom, during the lockdowns) Deborah (Theatre Ariel) commissioned the Israeli playwright to bring the stories of Rachel, Bruriah, and Yalta, three women in the Talmud, to the stage. These wise women, daughters, wives, and sages challenged the “expected.” Their stories will challenge the audience in this immersive, interactive play.
