Menashe 2017

Menashe, a recently widowed Hasidic man, struggles to regain custody of his ten-year-old son Rieven. Rieven lives with his aunt and uncle, Eizik and Yoel Weisshaus, after a ruling by the Rabbi that Menashe must first remarry to provide a proper home. The custody issue sits at the heart of a quiet, intimate drama that charts a man’s attempt to fit into a world that measures him by a two-parent standard.

Menashe’s first marriage was unhappy, and he is deeply reluctant to enter another relationship. He works as a clerk in a grocery store under a demanding manager and often struggles to make ends meet, even as he tries to maintain dignity in a bustling, rule-bound community. He does not wear the traditional black coat and top hat in public, though his son suggests he would look nice in one, hinting at a gap between personal identity and communal expectation.

Eizik, Menashe’s successful brother-in-law, looks down on him, and their tension comes to a head in front of the Rabbi. The Rabbi remains firm about the need for a two-parent home, but he allows Rieven to stay with Menashe for a short week to honor the memorial service for Menashe’s late wife. The looming requirement to provide a complete household casts a pall over every decision, even as the family negotiates the boundaries of love, duty, and obligation.

[Eizik]’s appetite for status becomes a point of contention when he wants the memorial meal hosted in his own refined home, while Menashe insists on keeping it in his modest, cramped apartment. In a moment that blends humor with heartbreak, Menashe tries to win a small victory by seeking a “bachelor-proof” kugel recipe from a neighbor and setting the pan to bake before heading to the cemetery for the service. The result is a kitchen filled with smoke upon their return, which Eizik criticizes as a failure, only for the Rabbi to praise the dish and urge the uncle to take a piece, underscoring a strange, compassionate tolerance within tradition.

Menashe’s plea grows more urgent as he begs Eizik to let Rieven live with him, but he is reminded that the path to such an arrangement requires more than good intentions—he must first find a wife. Undeterred, Menashe vows to visit the matchmaker again, seeking a way to fulfill the communal expectation of a two-parent home. The day ends with a return to ritual and renewal: a visit to the mikvah, followed by the careful donning of a coat and top hat, signifying a renewed intention to align personal life with the cultural script.

In this tender, observant portrait, everyday moments—work stress, family friction, a burnt kugel, and the quiet resolve to pursue a hopeful future—all converge to illuminate the challenges and tenderness of a man navigating loss, duty, and the stubborn, hopeful heartbeat of a community.