I have no problem letting anyone know that I am a fan of (and please don’t get offended by the term) “chick-flicks.” Give me a good comedy-romance that has lots of laughs, few tears and a full gamut of emotions in between and you can pretty much guarantee that I will love the film.

But the movie I saw at FAU was no “chick flick.” In fact, it was a foreign film, with French, Hebrew and Arabic. Don’t worry though; there are English subtitles that are quite easy to follow. The movie was called “The Other Son.” Now, don’t worry, I will not give away too much of the story; although, I will tell you that the butler did it. Just kidding, there is no butler in this movie. But, this is a movie that makes you think as much as and maybe even more than any great mystery film. It is the tale of two babies switched at birth. One of the babies is born to a Palestinian Muslim family and the other to an Israeli Jewish family.

That’s right; the Muslim is raised as a Jew and the Jew as a Muslim. At one point in the movie, one of the boys, now a young man, asks what one does when you find out that you are your own worst enemy.

That line really called out to me. You see, the Sages teach us that, if you have something you dislike about someone, you would do well to look at your own actions because what you are seeing in them may be like looking into a mirror … not a carnival mirror that distorts our image, but a mirror that is clean, clear and streak free … a mirror that shows our true self, rather than the image we like to picture ourselves as being.

The other day a woman was waving her hands frantically as she told me how she could not stand her neighbor. Do you know why? It was because her neighbor could not talk without waving her hands all over the place. In other words, she hated the other woman for something of which she herself was guilty. She simply refused to look at the fact that she was guilty of the very same behavior.

This brings me to another movie I had the joy of seeing. It was called “This is 40.” I have to warn you, while the movie is quite funny, it is also filled with a lot of curse words. And there is a scene in this film where the parents wonder where their child learned to use such foul language, but all you have to do is listen to the parents throughout the show and you know exactly where their child picked the choice of words.

Sometimes, we are indeed our own worst enemy. But remember, G-d is watching us. I know this because Bette Midler told me so. But let me tell you who else is watching; our children are watching. If you want to see a mirror image, well, it’s not just the hair color, the eyes or the cheekbones; it’s not just their looks. Your child is watching your actions, listening to your word, soaking up everything you say and do, and learning every step of the way.

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and of the Association of Professional Chaplains, He works professionally in this capacity with a number of healthcare facilities in the area, and with hospice. He is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach.