Jewish children's video gets its first screening

Saturday, June 18, 2005

It was bad enough when Dr. Lo-Tov (Hebrew for "no good") kidnapped Pittsburgh rabbis from their yeshiva classes in order to sabotage the kids' Torah studies. Now that evil-doer extraordinaire has a diabolical scheme to create a 40-foot mutant giant and use him to squash synagogues so Jews can't pray on Pesach.

Sounds like a case for Agent Emes (Sholom Ber Cohen) -- with a little guest-star help from Dr. Abraham Twersky -- in the ambitious fourth episode of "The Adventures of Agent Emes," a locally produced Orthodox Jewish children's series that is gaining popularity.

The world premiere (and first-ever public screenings) of the young hero's new adventures, "Agent Emes and the Giant Ego," take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 12:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. at Shaarei Torah Congregation, 2319 Murray Ave. Admission is $5.

Agent Emes, the brainchild of producer-director Leibel Cohen and his Pittsburgh-based Reel Jewish Entertainment, is the first live-action, direct-to-video "edutainment" adventure series on VHS, DVD and CD-ROM for Jewish children 6 to 12. It stars Cohen's precocious 12-year-old son, Sholom Ber, as the fearless yeshiva-boy-turned-crime fighter who battles for Jewish issues and Jews-in-trouble wherever he finds them -- usually in Squirrel Hill.

The programs give kids the chance to learn about Jewish practices and values while having some fun in the process. While the Christian community has long since created and marketed children's videos containing their theology and values, the Jewish community -- struggling to find the money and vision -- hitherto has not.

"Agent Emes" is aimed primarily but not exclusively at Orthodox Jews. While some of the terms used by its characters may only be familiar to the strictly Orthodox, its overall content and presentation of classic Jewish ideas are accessible to Jewish people of all affiliations.

Its title-character star is self-effacing.

"I'm not really into publicity," says the straightforward Sholom Ber Cohen, who was 10 when he made the first "Agent" episode two years ago. "I'd rather be a normal kid. I don't really like people looking at me like I'm different."

He'd also rather talk about sports. A triple-threat player of football, basketball and baseball, young Cohen will recount at length the recent Squirrel Hill Little League division world-series games in which he and his Yeshiva team triumphed.

"The Adventures of Agent Emes" episodes are also available by calling, 1-888-EMES-123, and online at www.agent-emes.com.