New Jerusalem April 7, 2011

Jewish Ensemble Theatre presents 'New Jerusalem' by David Ives, directed by David J. Magidson. Amsterdam, 1656. Baruch de Spinoza neglects his father's spice-importing business and spends his time speculating on the nature of G-d. Even worse, he has shared his ideas with gentile friends, including a young painter and Clara, the devout daughter of a local freethinker. But his blend of mystical piety and logical brilliance has also made him a rising star in the Jewish community and the beloved disciple of its leader, Rabbi Mortera. As the play begins Spinoza is developing a definition of G-d that sets off alarm signals for Jews and Christians alike, a view that threatens to actually "dissolve" the G-d of monotheistic tradition. As expressions of faith go, this locates Spinoza at the open door on the road to the Enlightenment. You'll thrill to a Reformation-era prequel to the Scopes trial, with a chilling extra touch of proto-Nazism. Here's what makes this is no dusty philosophical play, but an astonishing, suspenseful adventure filled with surprises: either the Jews expel Spinoza as a heretic or Amsterdam will expel the Jew.