Shows about datiyim are cropping up all over the place these days, starting with Me'orav Yerushalmi and Srugim, continuing with Hayim Acherim and Simanei She'elah and now in its latest (and darkest) incarnation with Urim V'tumim. We are especially drawn to these shows because they hit on issues close to our own lives. No forum exists in American TV or film either for portraying religious Jews as "regular" people or for addressing the particular issues and struggles that religious Jews face.
Urim V'Tumim revolves around the mysterious death of Yaniv Zaks, a young yeshiva student at an elite dati-leumi penimiah. In doing so, it weaves together a number of interconnecting plots illustrating various cracks beneath the rigorous and upright reputation of the yeshiva. These plots, include the rosh yeshiva's secret romance with a secular sculptor, the culture of hazing and pill-popping that lies beneath the rigors of the beit midrash and the yeshiva leadership's efforts to prevent investigation into Yaniv's death.
The series also addresses larger social and cultural conflicts through characters like Oz, a new student from a lower-class, broken Mizrachi family (played by Or Ben-Melech aka Tavor from Asfor; who else?) and Fadi, the school's Arab maintenance man and cook.
Seven prakim have aired so far, and the plots are beginning to thicken. We'll be right here with our two agurot as the season goes on.
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