The Impossible Dream by Israel Zwick

The Impossible Dream
By Israel Zwick

A musical drama inspired by “Man of La Mancha,”
book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion, music by Mitch Leigh


AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a series of short, musical plays about Jewish life and values in the State of Israel. The first was titled, “Farmer Without a Roof,” and the second was titled, “West Bank Story.” Both can be found by searching the archives of www.isralert.com. Though the following story is fictitious, it was inspired by actual events.


THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM
A Musical Drama (Glossary at end)



CHARACTERS


DOVID CHAIM, college student

SHLOMO PINCHAS, college student

EXTRAS, assorted college students, airport travelers, paramedics



SCENE 1



TIME: The present



SETTING: Student cafeteria of Touro College, Brooklyn, NY. Dovid Chaim and Shlomo Pinchas, two male college students about 22 years old, are sitting at a table having lunch. Each is wearing a white shirt, black slacks, and a black kipa (yarmulke) on his head.



DOVID: Well, Shlomo, we did it! Finals are over and we graduate next week. And you’re graduating summa cum laude. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been going to school together for 18 years, and now it’s come to an end. I’m going to miss you, buddy.



SHLOMO: What do you mean that it’s “come to an end?” It doesn’t have to be that way, we’ll still get together.



DOVID: You’re just saying that. Soon you’ll be going to Einstein Medical School where you’ll be busy day and night, then will come marriage and family, so maybe we’ll get to see each other at a simcha occasionally.



SHLOMO: It’s not going to be like that. We’ve been together since pre-school. You used to protect me from those bullies that were bothering me. I’ll never forget you for that, I’ll be eternally grateful. We’ll be friends forever.



DOVID: Yeah, I remember that. You were always a nerdy scholar. You were the first kid in Morah Rivka’s class to know the whole Aleph-Bays. But I couldn’t stand to watch those little Goliaths picking on you just because you were smarter than them. I couldn’t just stand there and watch them taunt you. But that was ages ago.



SHLOMO: A mitzvah is never forgotten. What about you, Dovid? Have you decided what you’ll be doing after graduation?



DOVID: I’m exploring a few business opportunities, but nothing definitive yet. What I would really like to do is go to Eretz Yisroel and get involved with kiruv rechokim, and also build relations between Arabs and Jews, but that won’t get me any parnoso.



SHLOMO: There you go again, the lofty idealist who’s going to fix the world all by himself. That’s a daunting task. When are you going to accept the realization that the world is full of animosity, belligerence, strife, turbulence, and violence? There isn’t much we can do about it. That’s why I’m becoming a physician. Maybe I’ll be able to relieve the suffering of a few individuals, that’s the best I can hope for. You won’t be able to resolve anti-semitism, assimilation, and strife. It will always be there.



DOVID: Besides all the anti-semitism in the world, there is so much sinas chinom between Jews. The left hates the right, the secular Jews hate the Haredi Jews, the Ashkenazim hate the Sephardim, the Conservatives hate the Orthodox, and so forth. We can’t go on like this. It’s got to stop.



SHLOMO: And you’re going to stop it? Since the time of Moses there has been strife between different Jewish tribes, groups, and sects. Do you really believe that you’re going to be able to change that?



DOVID: I don’t know, but I have to try. I can’t just sit back and watch Jews tearing each other apart, damaging our community, and destroying our beloved Land of Israel. There has to be way to unite the Jewish people.



SHLOMO: How do you propose to do that?



DOVID: We need to teach the secular Jews about the beauty and serenity of the Jewish way of life. While other cultures glorify power, money, fame, and the pursuit of pleasure, Judaism emphasizes the importance of family, community, kindness, and good deeds. On the doorpost of every Jewish home, there is a mezuzah, which symbolizes the centrality of the home in Jewish life. In each mezuzah, there is a portion from the Torah that says, “You should teach it to your children, and discuss it when you sit in your house and walk on the way.” While other cultures emphasize the attainment of individual success and gratification, Judaism emphasizes service to the community. The great sage, Hillel, taught us, “Do not separate yourself from the community.” Every Shabbos in our morning prayers, we say, “For all who are involved in the needs of the community, may the Holy One reward them.”



SHLOMO: So how do you expect to get this message across?



DOVID: I want to reach out to all the people and teach them the importance of acceptance, tolerance, understanding, and compromise. I want to be a Rebbe for all the menchen. (He sings)



Rebbe of the Menchen

Adapted from “Man of La Mancha”

Lyrics by Joe Darion, Music by Mitch Leigh



Hear me now, Oh thou bleak and unbearable world

Thou art based and debauched as can be

And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled

Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee!



I am I, Dovid Chaim, the Rebbe of the Menchen

Destroyer of evil am I

I will march to the sound of the Shofars of glory

Forever to conquer or die.



Hear me heathens, and wizards and serpents of sin

All your dastardly doings are past

For a holy endeavor is now to begin

And virtue shall triumph at last!



I am I, Dovid Chaim, the Rebbe of the Menchen,

My destiny calls and I go

And the wild winds of fortune will carry me onward

Oh whither so ever they blow

Whither so ever they blow

Onward to glory I go.



SHLOMO: There you go dreaming again. Do you really believe that you’re going to change the world?



DOVID: Our nation was built on dreams. Our forefather Jacob had a dream, his son Yosef was famous for his dreams. In Tehillim 126, King David wrote, “When G-d will return the captivity of Zion, we will be like dreamers.” Our Scriptures and Talmud are replete with references to dreams. So if I’m a dreamer, at least I’m in good company. (He sings)



The Impossible Dream

Lyrics by Joe Darion, Music by Mitch Leigh



To dream the impossible dream,

To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with unbearable sorrow,

To run where the brave dare not go.

To right, the unrightable wrong,

To love, pure and chaste, from afar,

To try, when your arms are too weary,

To reach the unreachable star!



This is my Quest, to follow that star

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right

Without question or pause,

To be willing to march into hell

For a heavenly cause!



And I know, If I’ll only be true

To this glorious Quest,

That my heart will lie peaceful and calm

When I’m laid to my rest.



And the world will be better for this,

That one man, scorned and covered with scars,

Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,

To reach the unreachable stars!



SHLOMO: Well, I wish you hatzlacha rabba, may all of your dreams come true.



DOVID: Hey, I have a great idea!



SHLOMO: Not another one of your bright ideas? I suppose that I should be used to it by now. OK, let’s hear it.



DOVID: Why don’t you come to Eretz Yisroel with me. I’m sure that you can get a one-year deferment from Einstein. We haven’t been to Israel together since we spent a year at Yeshiva Neveh Zion. We can visit the Mash and all the Rebbeim. You can learn at the Mir Yeshiva. You always wanted to do that. Wouldn’t it be great! What do you say?



SHLOMO: I don’t know. Let me think about it and discuss it with my parents. I’ll get back to you.



SCENE 2



TIME: three weeks later



SETTING: Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel, Arrivals Terminal. There is a crowd of people. A mother, wearing a kerchief, and a cute little boy with a black kipa are at the edge of the stage.



DOVID: Well, here we are. It’s hard to believe that we pulled it off. You’ll be learning at the Mir Yeshiva and I’ll be working for Yeshiva Ohr Samayach nearby. We can get together often. It will be fantastic, you’ll see. Hey, look at that little boy! He’s going to grow up to be Moshiach.



SHLOMO: Moshiach, who?



DOVID: Moshiach Ben Dovid, who else? Our Messiah, Our Redeemer.



SHLOMO: What are you talking about? He’s a five-year-old little boy. Dovid, you’re losing it. I think this heat is getting to you.



DOVID: (He walks over to the little boy and offers him a cookie. The boy, frightened, refuses the cookie and clings to his mother’s long skirt. Dovid bends down to the boy’s level and sings)



Knight of the Fearful Countenance

Adapted from “Knight of the Woeful Countenance”

Lyrics by Joe Darion, Music by Mitch Leigh



Hail, Knight of the Fearful Countenance

Knight of the Fearful Countenance!

Wherever you go,

People will know

Of the glorious deeds

Of the Knight of the Fearful Countenance!



Farewell and good cheer

Oh, my brave cavalier

Ride onward to glorious strife

I’ll swear when you’re gone

I’ll remember you well

For all of the rest of my life.



Oh, valorous Knight,

Go and fight for the right

And battle all villains that be,

But oh when you do,

The miracles so true,

Then G-d will appear for all to see.



Hail, Knight of the Fearful Countenance

Knight of the Fearful Countenance,

Wherever you go

People will know

Of the glorious deeds

Of the Knight of the Fearful Countenance.



SHLOMO: Dovid, come on! Hurry, our taxi is waiting, we’re going to lose it.



(Shlomo and Dovid step into the taxi with their luggage)



DOVID: Isn’t this wonderful! In less than an hour, we’re going to be in Yerushalayim, our Holy City, the Eternal Capital of the Jewish people. We’ll be able to daven maariv at the Kotel. (He sings)



Yerushalayim

Adapted from “Dulcinea”

Lyrics by Joe Darion, Music by Mitch Leigh



I have dreamed thee too long,

Never seen thee or touched thee,

But known thee with all of my heart.

Half a prayer, half a song

Thou hast always been with me,

Though we have been always apart.



Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim

I see heaven when I see thee, Yerushalayim.

And thy name is like a prayer

An angel whispers, Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim



If I reach out to thee,

Do not tremble and shrink

From the touch of my hand on thy hair.

Let my fingers but see

Thou art warm and alive,

And no phantom to fade in the air.



Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim

I have sought thee, sung thee

Dreamed thee, Yerushalayim



Now I’ve found thee

And the world shall know thy glory,

Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim.



SCENE 3



TIME: The next evening



SETTING: A cafי on Ben-Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. This is a trendy spot for college students.



SHLOMO: Dovid, why did you bring me here? Ben-Yehuda Street has a reputation for drugs and booze.



DOVID: Precisely. These are my clients. These are the people that I want to connect with. (He stands up on a chair). My friends, hear me out. It’s time to do teshuva.



SHLOMO: Dovid, what are doing? Get down from there. You’re making a fool of yourself.



DOVID: My friends, it’s time to return to the ways of Hashem.



SHLOMO: Dovid, stop it. That’s not the way. They’ll throw us out of here.



(Suddenly there is the sound of a loud explosion and shattered glass. The stage goes dark. In the darkness, cries and screams are heard. A few minutes later, two paramedics walk in, shining their flashlights. In the light of the flashlight, Dovid is lying on the floor and Shlomo is kneeling over him. Both are covered with blood. Shlomo is tearing off his shirt and using it as a tourniquet in a vain attempt to stop Dovid’s profuse bleeding. He moves away as the paramedics come over to attend to Dovid.)



SHLOMO: Oh, Rebono Shel Olam, please don’t let him die. (He sings, as the paramedics are working on Dovid)

Let Him Live

Adapted from “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables”

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg, English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer



Lord on high,

Hear my prayer

In my need

You have always been there



He is young,

He’s afraid

Let him rest

Heaven blessed

Bring him home

Bring him home

Let him live



He’s like the brother I might have known

If G-d had granted me a brother

The summers die

One by one

How soon they fly

On and on

And he is bold

And will be gone.

Bring him peace

Bring him joy

He is young

He is only a boy



You can take,

You can give

Let him be,

Let him live.

If I die, let me die

Let him live.

Bring him home

Bring him home

Let him live.



DOVID: (In a weak voice)

Yerushalayim,

I see heaven when I see thee, Yerushalayim

And thy name is like a prayer

An angel whispers, Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim.

(with his final breath)

Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokaynu, Hashem Echod



THE END



(Curtain)



Glossary (in order of appearance)



kipa – head covering worn by Orthodox Jewish males

simcha – festive occasion like a wedding or birth

aleph-bays – Hebrew alphabet

mitzvah – good deed

kiruv rechokim – outreach to non-affiliated Jews

parnoso – financial support

sinas chinom – baseless hatred

mezuzah – item required on Jewish doorposts

Shabbos – Saturday, Sabbath

menchen – (Yiddish) people, common folk

Shofar – ancient trumpet made from ram’s horn

Tehillim – Psalms

hatzlacha rabba – lots of success

Yerushalayim – Jerusalem, Israel

teshuva – repentenance

Rebono Shel Olam – Lord of the World

Shema Yisroel – prayer said when one is close to death



Israel Zwick
israel.zwick@earthlink.net