Podcasts about motke

Unanswered Prayers and the Treasury of Jewish Tears The Message of Parashat Va'etchanan We are continuing with the theme we started yesterday—a central message from Parashat Va'etchanan. Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to enter Eretz Yisrael and was not answered. This gives us chizuk (encouragement): when we pray and feel we are not being answered, it does not mean our prayer was wasted. We are no different than Moshe Rabbeinu. Rav Aryeh Levin and the Widowed Woman Rabbi Feuer brings down a beautiful story about Rav Aryeh Levin, a man of rare compassion and sensitivity. Once, a distraught, recently widowed woman came to him, crying uncontrollably. All his efforts to console her were to no avail. Finally, the widow said she would accept consolation if he could answer one question: "Please tell me: what happened to all my tears? I prayed and prayed for my late husband. I recited chapter after chapter of Tehillim and shed thousands upon thousands of tears. My very soul flowed into those tears. Where are they? Were they all wasted?" Gently, Rav Aryeh Levin replied: "After 120 years, when you leave this world and ascend to the Heavenly Tribunal, you will see how meaningful and precious your tears were. You will discover that Hashem Himself gathered them, counted every single teardrop, and treasured it like a precious gem. There is a beautiful line that Sephardim say in Selichot: העבר חטאתי אלהי ישועתי וגם את דמעתי שימה בנאדך ('Forgive my sins, God of my salvation, and place my tears in Your flask.') This based on a pasuk in Tehillim(56:9) נֹדִי סָפַרְתָּה אָתָּה שִׂימָה דִמְעָתִי בְנֹאדֶךָ הֲלֹא בְּסִפְרָתֶךָ : "You Yourself have counted my wanderings; place my tears into Your flask—are they not recorded in Your book?" The Gemara comments on this pasuk : "Whoever sheds tears over [the passing of] a virtuous person, the Holy One, Blessed be He, counts them and stores them in His treasure house, as it is stated: 'You Yourself have counted my wanderings; place my tears in Your flask, are they not in Your book?'" (Shabbat 105b) God has a flask where He places every Jewish tear. You will discover that whenever a harsh decree loomed over the Jewish people, one of your tears came and washed the evil away, making it null and void. Even a single sincere tear is a source of salvation." Hearing this, the woman burst into a fresh flow of tears—no longer tears of sorrow and grief, but tears of courage and hope. The "Tefillah Bank" and the Power of Unanswered Prayer The Sefer Chasidim teaches that prayers that go unanswered enter a "tefillah bank." We often view an unanswered prayer as if it were thrown in the garbage, but it is actually deposited in a celestial bank to be used later. It may even work for you in ways you don't yet see. The Chazon Ish and the Returned Generation Rav Yitzchak Scheiner zt"l (Rosh Yeshiva of Kamenetz Yerushalayim) spoke in the Deal Shul on Tisha B'Av many years ago, following Rav Matisyahu Salomon zt"l . Rav Matisyahu had spoken about the remarkable spiritual renewal of the Jewish people that we are witnessing today. Rav Scheiner shared how those words struck a personal chord, recalling his own journey from public school to becoming the Kamenetz Rosh Yeshiva. He shared the following story: In 1950, the Chazon Ish asked Rav Galinsky to keep an eye on a young bochur who had left his non-religious kibbutz to learn at the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Rav Galinsky noticed this was not an isolated case; there was a steady stream of young men returning to Yiddishkeit. Rav Galinsky asked the Chazon Ish: "Why do you suppose so many children are coming back to Yiddishkeit today, leaving behind the lifestyle of their non-committed parents?" The Chazon Ish answered: "The generation that left Yiddishkeit came from religious parents. Those parents saw what was happening to their children and—for whatever reason—could not stop them. They cried lonely, bitter tears. They prayed and they fasted, but it was too late to stem the tide. However, Hashem does not forget a Jewish tear. If those sincere tears did not save their own children, they were preserved to help their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. That is why these children are returning today—because Hashem never forgets a tear." A Personal Reflection: The Legacy of a Teardrop I will share something on a personal note as well. Many years ago, in the early 1980s, I met a great Rabbi—Chacham Abraham Raful (the uncle of Chacham Yosef Raful shlit"a from Ateret Torah). He was in his 90s at the time. When he heard my last name was Sutton, he asked, "Are you related to Abraham Sutton?" That was my great-grandfather. When I said yes, he told me a story he had witnessed firsthand: "Your great-grandfather lived in Syria, but he would travel to Yerushalayim on occasion. One morning in shul, I noticed he was weeping bitterly during his tefillah. Thinking he had a terrible personal problem, I asked him, 'Mr. Sutton, how can I help you? What's wrong?' He answered, 'Nothing is wrong. But every morning when I recite Birkat HaTorah and reach the words וצאצאנו וצאצאי צאצאנו ( 'our children and the descendants of our children' ), I think to myself: My children I know, and I can guide them to the best of my ability. But my grandchildren and great-grandchildren—what can I do for them? All I can do is cry for them. So that is what I do every morning during Birkot HaShachar.'" Chacham Abraham Raful concluded: "If he has religious grandchildren and great-grandchildren today, it is from those tears." I am living proof—a product of tears shed decades ago that are still working today. And while there were tears that seemingly didn't work immediately for certain family members, in the end, even those who experienced a temporary lapse returned. The spiritual gene was awakened by those prayers. Understanding the Full Impact of Tefillah The Steipler ( Chayei Olam , ch. 28) explains that the question "Why wasn't my prayer answered?" comes from a flawed perspective. We have no idea what would have happened without our prayers. How can we say a prayer wasn't answered when it may have prevented a far worse outcome? The Midrash notes that prayer sometimes accomplishes half: When a decree was issued that all of Aharon HaKohen's children should pass away, his and Moshe's prayers saved two of his four sons. While losing two sons was a horrific tragedy, the prayer mitigated a harsh decree and saved the remaining two. Tears with a Delayed Reaction: The 100-Year Siyum Sometimes, tears have a delayed reaction even for the very person they were meant for. (Jewish Observer, Dec. '98, p. 47) A man once made a Siyum Mishnayos on Shas for his father's yahrzeit , marking the 100th anniversary of his father's arrival in America. He retold the trials his family faced and how the "Goldene Medina" (America) had eroded their Yiddishkeit. He was the youngest of nine children, and his eight older siblings had already severed their connection to Yiddishkeit. His father's last hope was him—Mordechai. On his 16th birthday, Mordechai built up the courage to confront his father before davening : "Papa, I'm not going to Yeshiva College. I'm not going to lay tefillin anymore. I'm not going to shul on Shabbos. I want to be just like my brothers, sisters, and friends." The author recalled: "I raised my hands expecting a slap, but my father stopped and began to plead: 'Motke, du bist die letzte—you're the last one. My last hope. Don't say that. Don't mean it.' I was shocked to hear my father beg. 'Papa, please,' I said. 'I don't want to learn to be a rabbi. I just want to be like everyone else.' 'So don't be a rabbi!' he cried. 'Just stay a good Jew—put on tefillin, keep kosher, keep Shabbos. Don't become like the others. It's enough that I raised eight—I don't need nine! Motke, it's enough already!' My father burst into tears. I hugged him and cried too: 'Papa, please don't cry. It makes no sense to me to be frum, but I'll try.'" For 16-year-old Mordechai, those tears were soon forgotten as he eventually drifted away like his siblings. Decades later, however, the tears returned to him. When his own son wrote to him from Jerusalem saying he had enrolled in Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, Mordechai booked a flight to Israel to talk him out of his "foolishness." But as he prepared to leave, the memory of his father's tears came rushing back—and his heart changed. At the Siyum , he concluded: "On this centennial of my father's arrival in America and on his yahrzeit, I want to say: 'America, you beat us Jews bad, but you didn't win.' And to my father: 'Papa, you were beaten badly, but you didn't lose.' "

Motke got his start in filmmaking through the 48 Hour Film Project, winning Best Film 5 of the 10 times he's competed. He's also created a few feature films including his most recent, Another Version of You. He makes a living directing commercials and is busy working on plans for his next feature film. To see Motke's work, visit motke.net.

A Conversation with Motke Dapp Now Available @ApplePodcasts and at our page in our bio (bonsai.film/makeit) Motke Dapp is an award-winning filmmaker (Director, writer, producer, editor, and sometimes actor, but only sometimes.) He is co-owner of Paper Ghost Pictures, which he runs with his business partner and producer, Ryan Hartsock. He is often hired as an independent director in Nashville, Cincinnati, and around the world. His feature film  Other Versions of You, which he wrote and directed is currently in distribution via Gravitas Ventures. Motke's most recent short film, The New Mister Princess, won Best Film and Motke won Best Writer at the 2017 Nashville 48 Hour Film Project. It won 8 awards in total including Best Cinematography, Best Ensemble Cast, Best Wardrobe, and Best Art Direction. It will represent Nashville at Filmapalooza in 2018 in Paris. The film is also the first official selection of the Nashville Film Festival for 2018. You can learn more about Motke at his website motke.net, or at bonsai.film/filmmaker-spotlight You can follow his #Insta page @motke and follow his film progression at IMDb and Facebook by searching “Motke Dapp.” Our conversation is available on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are published every Friday. Listen+Subscribe+Rate = Love Enjoy! Questions or Comments? Reach out to us at contact@bonsai.film or on social and the web at https://linktr.ee/BonsaiCreative #MAKEIT   Links: Website IMDb Another Version of You (film) Everyday Yeti (short film) Contrary to Likeness (short film)   The 48 Hour Film Project Dwayne Johnson (actor) The Fall (film) Lee Pace (actor) Micah Simms (cinematographer) Nashville Film Festival Green Room (film) Jeremy Saulnier (director) Edgar Wright (director) David Fincher (producer) Every Frame a Painting (YouTube) The Royal Ocean Film Society (YouTube) Lessons from the Screenplay (YouTube) Masterclass Letterboxd app  

Thanks so much to Jennifer Bonior and Motke Dapp for coming on the show to talk with us about the Nashville 48-Hour Film Festival! Have you ever wondered what it takes to make a movie? What about what it takes to make a movie in just 48 hours? Jennifer is the City Producer for the Nashville 48-Hour Film Fest and Motke is a 10-time entrant and multiple-award winner at the festival, so it was a pleasure hearing them talk about the ins-and-outs of what makes the festival such a cool thing! For more info about the Nashville 48-Hour Film Festival, check out 48hourfilm.com/nashville-tn.

Episode 5 - “Double dipped emptiness and dirt mold of Motke” In this episode of This Is Our Sad, So Very Very Sad Podcast we talk about nothing, with lots of emptiness and vacuous spaces of nothing. We sprinkle in some Macaulay Culkin references and something about a sculpture of Motke made out of dirt. Dont' forgot to leave us a voicemail or text at ANYTIME by calling (513) 204-9420

In this episode of This Is Our Sad, So Very Very Sad Podcast we talk about Motke's visit with a Sasquatch and in-laws doing inappropriate things on dinner tables, while Paul deals with a urine van.