Oscar who?
Oscar who?

I heard on the radio this morning that the Oscars will be awarded tonight in L.A., and my heart did not jump even one bit. Nothing. Not even a small palpitation or a droplet of sweat on my palm. I couldn’t care in the least.

I have no idea what movies have been nominated, or what actors, and I couldn’t care less. That’s the incredible power of t’shuva, of repentance, of giving up the lie that we are Americans, and Frenchmen, and Italians, and returning to our roots.

I feel like I have exchanged every cell in my body. A spiritual overhaul of prayer, and Torah study, and tears of atonement, and hundreds of dunks in the mikvah, has transformed me into a different person, with totally different thoughts, dreams, and aspirations than I had when I was trying to be an American success in L.A., trying to be as rich, handsome, famous, and gentile as all of the Hollywood stars who will flock to the Oscars tonight.

Tzvi Fishman in Hollywood Days

Thank G-d, Baruch Hashem. Halleluyah. “He has raised me out of the dunghill to sit me with the princes of His people.”

If you want to save your souls, don’t watch the Oscars tonight. If you want to be a holy Jew, you have to work on it. You can’t have the best of both worlds, as the Modern Orthodox like to believe.

Holiness and impurity don’t go together. All of those actresses may look lovely in their sparkling, low-cut gowns, but is it worth it to frizzle your brain? When you pollute your eyes with things you shouldn’t see, the soul which sits in your brain is polluted as well. When that happens, your spiritual radar is smashed, and for example, the Land of Israel, becomes just a nice place to visit, like a Disneyland for Jews, and you think you can be just as serious a Jew in Beverly Hills, or Monsey.

So take it from someone who’s been there. Don’t watch the Oscars. Do your brain a favor and study Torah instead.