Holy Days Sermons Get A Little Help From Hollywood

For rabbis, the Jewish High Holidays are a ratings period. Synagogues are packed with people — many of whom attend only a few times a year — expecting to be impressed and even entertained by the sermons. This year, some rabbis are getting help from Hollywood.

"In Jewish tradition there's a teaching that says, 'Who is wise? One who learns from all people,' " says Rabbi Mark Diamond. "We wanted to bring together a cohort of our finest young and veteran rabbis with a cohort of writers who could really work with our rabbis."

So Diamond, fellow rabbi Jon Hanish and the rest of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California organized a workshop for top Hollywood writers to get together with rabbis. As Diamond and Hanish tell Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, the group included writers from the television programs Mad Men, Friday Night Lights, The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives.

It's a natural pairing to Hanish, who attended film school at the University of Southern California. " spent 15 years in the industry before I transitioned into becoming a rabbi," he says. "I see lots of parallels between screenwriting and between the rabbinate.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/27/139976497/holy-days-sermons-get-a-little-help-from-hollywood?ft=1&f=1016

who are forced to go to Temple.