In parsha cycle - which reads through the five-books of the bible over the course of the Jewish year - Danny's Bar Mitzvah parsha, "Behar", is followed by "Bechukotai" (Leviticus 26:3-27:34). While Behar discusses the Jubilee Year - the emancipation of slaves and the return of lands to their ancestral heirs - Bechukotai is chiefly known for the verses of Admonition, which warn of the punishments to be endured by those who disobey God. Among other things, the Admonition promises exile, the loss of family and attack by enemies and faint-heartedness - fates suffered by Larry Gopnik. In most years, the two parshahs are read on the same day. Because 1967 coincided with a "Jewish Leap" year - with an extra month before Passover - reading of Bechukotai would have been delayed to the following week (May 27, 1967). Much like Larry Gopnik's travails, the fearful Admonitions would be delayed but not escaped. Although the Hebrew School and Bar Mitzvah sequences in the film are clearly autobiographically inspired, Joel Coen was born on November 29, 1954 and hence would have had his Bar Mitzvah in December of 1967. The precise date of Danny's Bar Mitzvah thus appears to have been selected for this resonance.

Film

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