During a 1966 episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show, one of the show’s main character Buddy Sorell, gets up the chutzpah to finally take part in the Jewish ceremony of Bar Mitzvah, where, typically, a young Jewish boy becomes a man within his religion.
Buddy had not participated in the revered ceremony, and missed the opportunity to do as a 13-year old boy.
There are multiple references to the fact that Buddy waited about 30 years to have his bar mitzvah.
At the start of the memorable episode, a preoccupied Buddy Sorrell begins mysteriously begging off early from work and making surreptitious phone calls from the office, making co-writers Sally and Rob Petrie wonder what was going on. When Buddy again says he needs off early to go to his mother’s place – he tells his friends the truth about what was going on and the story unfolds.
His friends and family supported him. Buddy felt awkward as he was now an adult, but somehow summoned the courage to take the important step in his life. A crucial rite of passage.
During Buddy’s Bar Mitzvah ceremony, he mentions and thanks his mother, wife, attendees, and friends…
Bob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) even offers remarks about the old testament’s ancient roots and gravity of the ceremony for a Jewish person.
A nervous Buddy Sorell steps up and reads the prescribed words to God, as the ceremony commences.
In order to lend a touch of authenticity to the tv proceedings, a real Jewish cantor was brought in for the episode. He was supposed to sing a brief prayer at the beginning of the bar mitzvah scene, but according to a light-hearted Morey Amsterdam, the cantor became a bit star-struck at what he was doing and sang for an extraordinarily long time. It was a welcomed interlude.
The touching ceremony was watched by millions and was a pleasant change of pace for the American viewing audience.
The popular early 1960s episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show was daring in that few productions of the day featured a Jewish topic, let alone with actors and staff who were actually Jewish, including Morey Amsterdam (Buddy Sorell), and all presented within a comedic context.
The portrayed courage of Buddy, and the true courage of the show’s producers to air the unusual episode, lends an ingredient of authentic inspiration.
Such inspiration is something we can all strive for in many episodes of our very lives- regardless of our spiritual inclinations……
The courage to do what we can in order to live out our faith, and grow as persons.
In doing so – we can all “grow up” and do what we should, as America witnessed Buddy Sorell “become a man”.
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