Pirates at CGI Parksville

By Yehuda Fenton

If you ask most people what piracy has to do with the Jewish people, you’ll probably get blank stares. Surely these swashbucklers have little to do with the Chosen people?

This past tuesday, however, the campers and staff of Gan Yisroel Parksville were astounded to receive a glimpse into the life of the real jewish pirate rabbi, Samuel Pallache.

This year’s staff play told a fictional story which had woven into it some of the most astounding Jewish men in our history. From Abraham Zacuto who gave Christopher Columbus the charts to sail to America, and Menashe Ben Israel, the Jewish statesman that tricked Lord Oliver Cromwell into letting the Jews back into England, to the legendary Jewish pirate, Rabbi Samuel Pallache who founded the entire Amsterdam community on money taken from the Spanish Inquisition, the play was a revolutionary new step in camp drama.

The enchanting story of these real-life characters drew the campers back to this little known time in Jewish history.The music of this dramatic tale and the exquisite backdrops helped set the tone, completed by a variety of magnificent props, including a full scale pirate ship. The wonderful actors were now able to enter the stage and delight the audience with their incredibly versatile performances, ranging from the hauntingly morose to the playful.

The play beautifully brought to life these incredible people and sparked an interest in the campers to find out more about these iconic figures and the role they played in Jewish history. Throughout, the dialogue was scattered with tantalizing tidbits regarding these individuals, urging the audience to explore these fascinating people for themselves. This play was a resounding example of how easily incredible messages and vast amounts of knowledge can be expressed through this wondrous art form, and set the bar very high for all of those involved.

The Making of a Staff Play
Video: Mendy Soffer