Bee Season

[ Man ]|Number 14...

Eliza Naumann, Oakland Tribune,|Oakland, California.

- " Oppidan "|- " Oppidan "

[ Sighs ]

[ Woman Coughs ]

[ Eliza Narrating ]|My father told me once...

that words and letters hold all|the secrets of the universe.

That in their shapes and sounds...

I could find everything|and see beyond myself...

to something special...

perfect.

My father told me once...

that I could reach|the ear of God.

[ Woman ]|Eliza?

''Nozzle.''

[ Male Announcer ] From KQED public radio,|this is "The California Report. "

I"m Scott Shaffer. On today"s show,|people from all over the country-

[ Female Announcer ]...thousands of|supermarket clerks are on the picket line.

70,000 union workers at Vons-

...walked off thejob late Saturday|after contract negotiations fell through.

At issue are-

[ Helicopter Approaching ]

Ron says the Alfa's|gonna be ready this afternoon.

- Great.|- So I"ll pick it up and stop for groceries.

- Okay.|- Hey.

Hey, what are you doing?|That's my breakfast.

- This is terrible stuff. How do you eat this?|- [ Chuckles ]

- I'll see you later.|- Yeah, see you.

[ Car Door Closes ]

- Bye. Thanks for the ride.|- [ Mrs. Naumann ] Okay, bye-bye.

[ Eliza ]|Bye.

- Got your lunch?|- Mm-hmm.

Bye, sweetheart.|I'll call after school.

- Okay.|- Okay. Bye-bye.

- Thanks, Mom.|- [ Car Door Closes ]

[ Children Shouting ]

[ Boy ]|Hey, wait up.!

[ Man ]|Eliza, let"s try "possibility. "

[ Eliza ]|"Possibility. "

P-O-S-S-I...

B-I-L...

- I-T-Y. ''Possibility.''|- Correct.

Courtney. "Graphite. "

- Correct.|- [ Girl ] O-R-O-W-

- [ Man ] That"s incorrect.|- [ Boy ] L-I-

[ Man ] Incorrect. I"m sorry.|You"re excused.

- [ Boy ] C-L-T-|- [ Man ] "Placebo. "

- P-L-A-|- [ Man ] "Random. " "Indemnity. "

- I-N-|- "Flux. "

- ''Flux.''|- "Fluorescent. "

- [ Eliza ] F-L-U-O-|- [ Man ] "Archaeology. "

[ Eliza ]|A-R-C-H-A-E...

- O-L-O-G-Y.|- [ Sighs ]

[ Mr. Naumann ] Who"s going to|be handling it? Who do we have this year?

We"ve got Louis, Thomas-|We"ve got-So, that"s James.

Uh, ''Aspects of Biblical Religion.''|Ron usually takes that.

Look again. Uh, 1 90;

Topics in Religious Studies,|the Upanishads.

I could do that or-

[ Speaking Hebrew ]

[ Continues ]

- Coffee? Thanks.|- On the stove.

[ Mrs. Naumann ] You know that dinner|of yours? We used every pot in the house.

- That wasn't worth washing a pot or two?|- Or 1 0.

- [ Chuckles ]|- [ Continues ]

- What's this?|- He's helping her with Hebrew school.

[ Mr. Naumann ] Do you understand|a word you"re saying?

- I understand a lot of it.|- Yeah? Okay.

- Translate, hotshot.|- Um, it's about where Abraham sacrifices-

- No, not sacrifices.|- ...uh, starts-

- Yes?|- ...to sacrifice Isaac to God?

- Yes?|- ...to sacrifice Isaac to God?

- You're being a bully.|- A bully?

[ Scoffs ] Maybe, but why shouldn't|he know what he's saying?

Isn"t God in the words?|See, God is the words.

The spoken words,|the utterances.

How do we reach|the ear of God, Aaron?

- [ Speaking Hebrew ]|- Exactly. You speak with him. It's ridiculous.

MostJews don't understand|what they're saying in services.

Well, that's what attracted me.|The mystery of it all.

- I thought it was Dad"s cooking. [ Laughs ]|- Very clever.

You missed a spot.

You"re slipping. Come on. Let"s go.|Let"s play. Let"s go.

- Come on.|- We'll finish this later.

Hey, what do you think|about changing the tempo-

[ Cello Tuning Up ]

I love this piece.|You been working on this?

[ Violin, Classical ]

[ CelloJoins In ]

- [ Continues ]|- Good night, honey.

[ Rock ]

- Hey.|- Could you drive me somewhere?

[ Aaron ]|So, uh, what is this again?

[ Eliza ] I told you already.|The district spelling bee.

Don't you have to win|your school bee to be in that?

- Uh-huh.|- God, Elly, that"s great.

Wow. I'm totally impressed.

Dad must be in Dad heaven.

- He doesn't care.|- How can you say that? He loves this stuff.

I put the letter under his door.|He never said anything.

I'm sorry.

[ Woman ] The spelling bee|is a truly American tradition.

I"d like to welcome you to the|Oakland Tribune District Bee.

Spellers, be proud.

You are examples of the best|and brightest in our area.

[ Man ]|"Sequel. "

''Sequel.''

S-E-Q-U...

- E-L.|- Correct.

- [ Applause ]|- [ Man ] "Orangutan. "

O-

[ Man ] "Turpitude. "|"Fresco. " "Homonym. "

Hom- Homonym.

H-O...

M-O-N-Y-M.

[ Woman ]|Correct.

[ Man ]|"Coyote. "

- ''Coyote.'' C-O-Y-|- ''Affix.''

- [ Gavel Bangs ]|- "Susurration. "

"Dendroid. " "Extenuate. "|"Notorious. "

"Anvil. " "Hydrofoil. "|"Graduate. "

- ''Oasis.''|- ''Hoodlum.''

- [ Gavel Bangs ]|- ''Macrame.''

M-A-C...

R-A-M-

[ Electricity Crackles ]

- ...A-Y?|- Incorrect.

- [ Gavel Bangs ]|- [ Applause ]

[ Applause ]

[ Eliza ]|S-A-L-I...

N-E. ''Saline.''

[ Mr. Naumann ]|So, a paradox.

[ Mr. Naumann ]|So, a paradox.

God is... everything-

a perfect, luminous essence.

But even God wants more-|to experience more, to give.

So God creates a vessel,|a container...

that can receive this...|gift of God's pure light.

His divine light|pours into the vessel.

- Come stand here.|- The vessel, of course...

- can't contain the magnitude|of this light, and it shatters.|- [ Door Closes ]

Destroying the vessel,|and scattering its broken shards...

in a big bang of creation.

Now, man's job is to locate|and gather these shards...

to make the vessel-|our world- whole again.

Now the cabalists called|this fixing, this mending-

they called it...

Tikkun-

- [ Person Clears Throat ]|- Tikkun olam, the fixing of the world.

Now, any act of goodness,|altruism, kindness...

that contributes to that idea|is considered tikkun olam.

It"s an extraordinary idea- that we|can restore what has been shattered.

In fact, it's our responsibility|to try, each of us.

Out of the very pieces|of the destruction...

God has left us hope.

- [ Chattering ]|- Polytheism papers due next Tuesday.

[ Mr. Naumann ] Elly, this is fantastic.|Why didn"t you tell me?

- I did, but you didn't say anything.|- Hmm?

She thinks you've|been ignoring it.

- I put the letter under your door.|- What letter, honey?

- From Dr. Morris.|- Dr. Morris?

It's probably in the mess|on your floor, Dad.

- I'm really sorry. I didn't see that letter.|- She beat out a lot of kids.

- Yeah?|- You'd have loved it.

[ Laughs ]|Did you do that?

Oh, man.|[ Laughs ]

I got another chance now, don"t I? Because|you moved up to that next level, right?

- The regional bee in Sacramento.|- Oh, perfect.

Perfect. We"ll all go. This is really,|really important, and this-

[ Inhales ]|This is a beautiful thing.

Let's take this home.|We'll show it to your mom, all right?

We'll put the top down|on the Alfa.

Wow, what a great day!

It's okay.

Go with Dad.

I'll, uh, see you at home.

Okay, in the Chronicle, the Trib|and the Montclarion. Listen to this.

- [ Aaron ] Wow.|- ''Winner of the spelling bee...

''that took place Saturday afternoon|at Albany High School...

was sixth grader|Eliza Naumann. "

''Sixth Grader Bests|Middle Schoolers.''

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