Sex in the holy city

June 25, 2008 - 9:00 PM by Jessica

Well, actually, there’s no sex in Srugim (roughly translated as Knitted, for the crocheted yarmulkes worn by the mostly Modern Orthodox guys in this series), the new Yes satellite channel relationship drama about religious twenty- and thirtysomethings in Jerusalem. That’s because this is a show about the dating dilemmas, romances and friendships of this very particular crowd, who may kiss, but not necessarily, and generally don’t do boy-girl sleepovers either, except if they’ve had too much to drink and shouldn’t be driving.

And when they do sleep over, as one male character does in the first episode of the show, he asks if either of the two female roommates has tefillin that he can use, which, of course, they don’t. When they get him a pair from the next-door neighbor who is both female and American, he says he can’t use a “Reform lesbian’s tefillin.” At which point, the roommate with whom he had been on the date, tells him to leave.

It’s fairly ground-breaking stuff for Israeli television, given that Laizy Shapira, the creator of the series, takes a long, detailed look at the world of dati, religious Israelis, but with an honest lens. There’s nothing derogatory about the focus either, which may say something about how far Israeli society has come. There was a time, and not so long ago, when I don’t think Israeli television could support a show about the challenges and mores of modern, religious Israeli society.

But times seem to have changed, and here’s a drama that offers pathos, humor and some necessary sarcasm in looking at the lives of these singles and their search for love and truth. Judging by the comments on the YES website, viewers are ready for the next episode, although one did comment that a show without sex just isn’t a TV show. I guess they’ll have to wait and see.

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