Valley rabbi inspired ‘Joy’

David O. Russell, the writer and director of the film “Joy” recently called Rabbi John Linder of Temple Solel “one of the inspiring voices of the film.”

In an interview with Tara Hitchcock of AZ Family, Russell said that Linder surprised many people by  declaring mid-life that he was going to become a rabbi. “I knew him as a hockey player,” Russell said. (Read more about Rabbi Linder’s hockey playing here.)

When Russell attended Linder’s installation, he said that the rabbi presiding at the ceremony asked Linder, “Are you prepared to be the unanxious presence in the room?”

That phrase stuck with Russell and he had Linder in mind when he used it in the film, which is currently in theaters.

Watch the clip here.

 

 

 

 

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