Oz Yashir: Jewish Interpretations Of The Wizard Of Oz

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May 15, 2006 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz. In addition, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the movie version appearing on TV. In Wizard of Politics: Down the yellow brick road of overinterpretation, John J. Miller recounts all kinds of interesting background information on both the book and its author--and how the book has been interpreted:

Yet there is a long history of digging deeper into Baum's books and searching for hidden meanings. The most famous of these is to interpret "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" as a parable of the Populist movement of the 1890s: Dorothy represents the American people, the Scarecrow symbolizes farmers, the Tin Woodman stands in for factory workers, and the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic presidential candidate. One of the leading concerns of Bryan and the Populists was to get off the gold standard (the Yellow Brick Road) and replace it with the silver standard (the color of Dorothy's slippers in the book).

It's only natural that there would be some Jewish interpretations of The Wizard of Oz as well. At Torah.org, Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, spiritual leader of the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Westwood, California invokes images from both The Wizard of Oz as well as the Talmud and the Kabbalah in finding in the story a metaphor for Prayer, which require in part the heart and the brain:

But our journey continues. There is an additional challenge that lies ahead. As we seek to synchronize our brains and hearts to create a meaningful encounter with the divine, we are faced with the prospect of the fears and insecurities we all have in coming before G-d. If we stop to think about what it means to actually be in G-d's presence, it is a frightening experience. In other words, in order to approach G-d's throne, we need to find the courage to do so. It takes courage for a human being to ask G-d to forgive his sins and answer his prayers.

So our journey now adds an additional character: the Lion, who traveled down the yellow brick road in pursuit of courage.

Rabbi Bouskila also finds allusions to Shabbos within The Wizard of Oz as well.

In Midrash, Jewish Identity, and the Musical Wicked, Gary Shapiro looks for meaning in the musical 'Wicked'--a 'prequel' to The Wizard of Oz based on the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Shapiro sees the book Wicked as more than a prequel:

However, a traditional Jewish literary term fits Maguire’s work better than the expression prequel. Wicked the novel is a kind of midrash or deep commentary on the classic film. Rabbinic midrash begins from the Torah text and raises probing questions, fills in narrative gaps, and enlarges upon ideas that are latent in the original. And midrash frequently challenges what we think we know about biblical teachings. L’havdil, as we say when comparing the incomparable, but Wicked the novel engages in a similar interpretive effort vis a vis The Wizard of Oz.

With this in mind, Shapiro finds that Wicked operates in a way similar to the midrash that explains the source for Kriat Shema. In the case of Wicked, he finds in Maguire's book and the musical a search into the meaning of good and evil--an explanation of which Shapiro points to in both midrash and in the Pesach Haggadah, where he finds that evil is not necessarily absolute and sometimes deceptive in appearance.

Returning to the The Wizard of Oz, there is Schlepping Over the Rainbow which Danny Miller posted in his blog last year. For Miller, watching the movie is a yearly experience that carries a special meaning:

The early scenes of the film on Dorothy Gale’s Kansas shtetl were filmed in black-and-white, a bleak foreshadowing of the encroaching doom that would forever obliterate the Jewish way of life throughout Europe. The danger to the Jews first took the form of nasty Miss Gulch, a classic anti-Semite who wanted to take Dorothy’s precious dog to the authorities and “make sure he’s destroyed.”

Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, though outraged like many Jews who had to endure such indignities during the early years of Nazi influence, feel powerless to stop Miss Gulch and they hand the poor mutt over to certain death. Miraculously, the dog escapes and finds his way back to Dorothy’s loving arms. Dorothy realizes that evil still lurks around the corner and she tries to run away. By this time Miss Gulch’s rabid anti-Semitism has grown into a tornado of hate, sending Dorothy and her entire house up into the gale winds of the unknown. Her town and former life disappear as she lands in the mysterious land of Oz.

Miller analysis extends to the main characters, whether they are Jewish or not.

According to Miller:

• Dorothy, the Munchkins, Scarecrow, and The Cowardly Lion are Jews.
• Glinda the Good Witch, Tin Man, and The Witch's Guards are not Jews.

The residents of the Emerald City? They are members of a Master Race who, "though beautiful, graceful, and strong, they lack individuality and are easy prey to a charlatan who has delusions of grandeur and hopes that no one would pay attention to the man behind the curtain."

Miller used to be indignant that Glinda puts Dorothy through all sorts of dangers, when she knows the secret of how Dorothy can get home safely.

But no more:

I now see this as the film’s most Jewish message of all. For thousands of years Jews have struggled as a people against forces that tried to destroy them or make them assimilate into the larger culture. Instead of succumbing to the waves of persecution or taking the easy way out, the tiny Jewish population thrived against all odds. It wasn’t powerful weapons or armies that allowed Jews to survive, it was their own quiet knowledge of their worth as a people.

More to the point, is a comment by Shiloh Musings:

I don’t understand why our ancient and distinguished Jewish People keeps begging the wizard to do what we can and should do for ourselves.

Only when Toto, the dog, pulled the curtain away, and the wizard’s humanity and weakness were exposed did the Wizard of Oz admit the truth. He had no magic powers. Dorothy, who had killed the wicked witch, was much more powerful than himself. If Dorothy wanted to go home, she had the power to do it herself. If we want true security, it won’t come from the UN, US or any foreign body. It’s up to us, only us, to use the “oze” inherent in us.

If only we can find the brains, the heart, and the courage to do it.

Which I think is the point of the movie:

• The Scarecrow who "has no brains" plans and leads
• The Tin Man who "has no heart" cries
• The Cowardly Lion "who has no courage" puts his life on the line for his friends
• Dorothy who is looking for a way home finds it was always within reach
  

What they were looking for was there all along. The same is true for us.
Even a fool, The Wizard, was able to see it.
The question is, when will we.

Crossposted at Israpundit

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