RSS Feed
Tzfas, Israel - Under Strict Censorship of a Rabbinical Board Kosher Comics Have Sharply Risen |
|
| |
Text Size
|
Page of the weekly Jewish Ultra-Orthodox comic book O; (Light in Hebrew), created by Dror Cohen. A far cry from the thrills of Spiderman, chaste and religious comics have become a hit among ultra-Orthodox Jews determined not to pollute their childrens minds.
For the reclusive Haredi society that shuns television, Internet and video viewed as a source of moral corruption, the no-sex, no-violence comics offer benign entertainment and a fun way of teaching tradition to their children.
Dozens of colourful comic books featuring Biblical stories and adventures of famous rabbis and sages fill the shelves of bookstores in Haredi neighbourhoods alongside the thick and austere religious textbooks.
Outside a bookstore in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Yom Tov Cohen contently watched as his four-year-old son flicked through one.
"It is great, the kids love reading these books and at the same time they learn. It is not easy teaching your children the Bible," said Cohen, in the traditional attire of a Haredi Jew -- black coat, black hat, long curly sidelocks and a beard.
The number of "kosher" comic books has sharply risen in recent years with dozens of new publications and new artists, including women who once used aliases but today feel comfortable to publish their names.
"It may seem surprising, but today comics are getting more and more into the mainstream of the Haredi culture," said Eli Eshed, an expert in Israeli comics.
Page of the weekly Jewish Ultra-Orthodox comic book Or.
The Haredi comics industry leapfrogged with the launch of the first weekly "Kosher" comic magazine in September, created and published by comic artist Dror Yisrael Cohen.
The ultra-Orthodox communities are deeply attached to their traditional way of living established in eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries and are extremely suspicious of introducing new technology.
And even Cohen, who works on a computer at his home in the northern city of Safed, does not have an Internet connection because rabbis did not authorise him to have it and because he does not want his children to access it.
Cohen swiftly sketched with a pencil on a white page, revealing within seconds the face of the hero of next week's edition -- a pious Jew who turns from rags to riches thanks to the blessing of a prominent Jewish sage.
He then went over the faint pencil lines with a black pen and after adding a few strokes of a fountain pen, he stood up to perform the evening Minha prayer facing the window of his modest apartment's eastern wall.
Cohen later scanned the black-and-white image into the computer and coloured it using a cutting edge drawing board.
To get a new magazine out every week, he needs to work fast, which sometimes comes at the expense of the quality of the comics, he admitted.
Page of the weekly Jewish Ultra-Orthodox comic book.
Like many Haredi comic artists, Cohen got hooked to comics when he grew up in a secular family.
When he became religious at the age of 24, he completely gave up art to focus solely on religious studies. It was only after years that he felt comfortable to return to the comics.
Haredic artists work under the strict censorship of a rabbinical board.
The board makes sure the content of their drawings will not offend or corrupt the minds of young readers or violate the Biblical edict in the book of Exodus that "thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above."
"There is censorship and I think there should be one," Cohen said. "I make sure that the drawings have educational value and that they do not corrupt the children's soul."
The heroes of his stories, such as rabbi Yisrael Ben Eliezer who founded Hasidic Judaism, the main strain of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, in the 18th century, may even have God-bestowed supernatural powers such as telepathy or X-ray vision, but only within certain limits.
"My heroes will never have powers like the Incredible Hulk or Superman because it makes no sense. They will have power within certain boundaries of logic," said Cohen, sitting in his studio, which also serves as a bedroom for one of his 12 children.
The ultra-Orthodox comics depict in picture and colour many traditional religious tales, all of which are aimed at glorifying the Lord and teaching good virtue.
"The Haredi comics cannot deal with every topic, they are subject to severe censorship," said Eshed, the expert in the field.
"They can't show or talk about sex, of course. They can at times present women but in a very modest way, often without showing their face. Not too much violence or blood."
More of today's headlines
“London - The questions before the judges in Courtroom No. 1 of Britain's Supreme Court were as ancient and as complex as Judaism itself. Who is a Jew? And who gets to...”
London - Who is a Jew? And who gets to decide? Court Ruling Raises Question
New York - VINDAF VIEWS: Bava Basra 79
Total6
Read Comments (6) — Post Yours »
1
Nov 08, 2009 at 08:45 AM Anonymous Says:
The line between "kosher" comic books, more conteimporary comics with yiddeshe themese and evetually the kind of filthy porno comic books is a very slippery mitzvslope that I would not want to have to navigate for my yinglach. Generations of yiddin grew up as shomrei mitzvot and learded torah without comic books. We should stop looking to the goiyeshe minhagim to fix the problem of parents and teachers who lack the time and skills to teach torah and emunah in the way of the Alte rebbe.
2
Nov 08, 2009 at 09:39 AM TheTruth Says:
“ The line between "kosher" comic books, more conteimporary comics with yiddeshe themese and evetually the kind of filthy porno comic books is a very slippery mitzvslope that I would not want to have to navigate for my yinglach. Generations of yiddin grew up as shomrei mitzvot and learded torah without comic books. We should stop looking to the goiyeshe minhagim to fix the problem of parents and teachers who lack the time and skills to teach torah and emunah in the way of the Alte rebbe. ”
Fahrshtaytzuch that I agree with u. Chas vshulom that our yingylachim should have any sort of outlet thats not holy in gantsen. If there is some goyishe connection - even just a schmeck - it should be assered and put in chayrem asap.
3
Nov 08, 2009 at 10:01 AM Babishka Says:
My kids loved the "Mendy and the Golem" series many years ago! At first the series was illustrated by some Lubavitch bochurim, who were really very talented, and the series was fun. Then they got some professionals who had worked at DC comics illustrating "Archie" and "Superman" and it went down hill.
4
Nov 08, 2009 at 01:27 PM zev Says:
why are you on the internet, a lt worse than comics, we survived thousands of years without internet
5
Nov 08, 2009 at 06:35 PM Anonymous Says:
Zev:
Yes, and we survived thousands of years without refrigerators, telephones, modern medicine and the printing press. One thing leads to another - in the end it's all one package. A better solution is to figure out how to use the internet without falling prey to its hazards. Kosher servers, filters and other technologies - along with self-discipline, siyata d'shamaya, and parents keeping a constant eye on their chlldren - these things will help. Imitating an ostrich will only get you sand in your ears.
6
Nov 08, 2009 at 06:34 PM Anonymous Says:
“ why are you on the internet, a lt worse than comics, we survived thousands of years without internet ”
We survived thousands of years without toilets too, but I don't hear you complaining. If you feel exposed to shmutz on the 'net, then get a good filtering program or disconnect, don't project your own failings onto the rest of the world. Beyond the fact that parnassa is increasingly restricted to those who are functional internet users and the access to information that is now possible between individuals and communities who would never have been able to communicate fifty years ago, the potential for harbatzas hatorah that is present via the internet is massive. A simple example is dafyomi dot co dot il which has an immense amount of Torah on the daf yomi or theshmuz dot com. We can't approach something as powerful and with as much potential for good as the information age with a dismissive and overly cautious mentality. There are many solutions l for cutting yourself off from the seedy element of the internet and opening yourself up to the good side, you just need to take the minute amount of effort it takes to implement that and stop kvetching at other people.