Footnotes to the TV series
RORY: So, changing the subject . . .
PARIS: Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, literally “praise ye Yahweh!” in Hebrew (often translated as “praise the Lord”), an interjection used as an expression of gratitude and adoration in Jewish and Christian prayers. In modern English, often used as an expression of joy or relief.
LORELAI: Sookie, listen, you hired Bob. You trained him in your image.
A reference to the Bible. In Genesis 1:27, it says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Lorelai is humorously suggesting that Sookie is the “god” of the kitchen who has trained Bob as her “creation”.
DAVE: You know, my parents would love these sandwiches. I wish I could bring them by but unfortunately they’re in private Bible study right now.
Dave shows Lane how interested he is in her, and how keen he is to impress her rather scary mother, by coming over to eat her fake egg sandwiches. Just in case you’ve forgotten, it is now past five in the morning! Who even wants sandwiches at this hour? Why is Mrs Kim still serving them? The filling would have gone off by now, and she freely admits herself the bread is stale.
He also pretends that he is a Christian, as a way to inveigle himself into Mrs Kim’s good books. He claims that his parents would be joining in the stale fake egg sandwich celebration, except that they are in a private Bible study session. At five in the morning??? It would be far more believable to say they were asleep!
Later he says his parents are at church (at five in the morning!), which means the fictional Bible study session wasn’t private at all. Dave’s story has more holes than Swiss cheese, but Mrs Kim, always shown to be pretty switched-on previously, is swallowing this farrago of lies like a gullible fool. She must be very, very tired. Or she really likes Dave.
JESS: I noticed Rory’s not dancing with Dean … How come? Trouble in paradise?
Trouble in paradise is an idiom meaning that there is a problem in a supposedly idyllic situation, nearly always referring to a marital or romantic relationship. The phrase seemingly dates to the late 19th century, and refers to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden from the Bible.
JACKSON: Oh, I’m not mad. I just didn’t realize that when I married Sookie, I also married you. I didn’t realize I was a Mormon, my mistake.
Mormonism, the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s.
Polygamy (plural marriage) was practised by the church during the 19th century, and although the practice was officially ended in the early 20th century, some sects continue the tradition today.
Predictably, Jackson is not happy to learn Sookie has discussed their private marital problems with Lorelai. Although he has a valid point, he immediately throws an immature tantrum instead of discussing it with Sookie, so his communication is as poor as hers (or worse).
TAYLOR: Well, fine, if you feel like that, maybe I will just stop showing up altogether. Maybe I’ll convert to something else and give them my generous weekly donation …
REVEREND SKINNER : Maybe the Shakers in Woodbury would take him.
RABBI BARANS: Yeah, he’s already got the beard. Can you make furniture, Taylor?
The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Christian founded in England in the 1740s. They emigrated from England in the 1770s and settled in Revolutionary colonial America. They were initially known as “Shaking Quakers” because of their ecstatic behaviour during worship services.
They practice a celibate and communal utopian lifestyle, pacifism, charismatic worship, and their model of equality of the sexes. They are also known for their simple living, architecture, technological innovation, music, and furniture.
In real life, there are only two Shakers left in the US, Arnold Hadd and June Carpenter, who live in the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community in Maine [pictured]. The idea of them living in nearby Woodbury is purely fictional. Of course, the reverend and the rabbi may just be teasing Taylor.
RABBI BARANS: Is the whole shellfish thing really serious? Because, I gotta tell you, some of these Red Lobster commercials . . .
Red Lobster is a chain of casual dining restaurants headquartered in Orlando, Florida. They have more than 700 locations worldwide. It first opened in Lakelands, Florida in 1968, and specialises in seafood, including lobster, crab, fish, molluscs, and shrimp.
The rabbi jokingly refers to the fact that shellfish are not kosher, and therefore forbidden in Judaism.
RABBI BARANS: Ugh, I can’t even look at this mayonnaise.
A joke based on the stereotype that Jewish people hate mayonnaise, preferring mustard as their condiment of choice. It has nothing to do with mayonnaise not being kosher – there’s no religious stipulation against it.
Jewish comedian Milton Berle once cracked, “Anytime somebody orders a corned beef sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise, somewhere in the world, a Jew dies” – I guess, dies in horror? Although Milton Berle himself ate mayonnaise on his corned beef sandwiches, making fun of people eating mayonnaise became a staple of Jewish comedy.
RABBI BARANS: Reverend Skinner and I share the church for services, Taylor, so if there’s gonna be a protest, it’ll be a joint decision.
Reverend Skinner and Rabbi David Barans are introduced in this episode, and we also learn that the church is shared between the (vaguely unnamed) Protestant and Jewish congregations, while the reverend and the rabbi are firm friends.
The town has apparently gone through Reverend Nicholls, and the reverend who buried Louie Danes, and Reverend Melmin (who is Seventh Day Adventist), and now here’s Reverend Archie Skinner. I’m not sure if Stars Hollow has a lot of reverends, or a high turnover of them.
Reverend Skinner is played by Jim Jansen, who had roles on numerous TV shows. He has played a reverend several times, including on Nikki, Melrose Place, and Step by Step. He previously played someone named Skinner in Just the Ten of Us.
Rabbit Barans is played by Alan Blumenfeld, who has a similarly extensive CV. He played a rabbi again in the 2017 film Pinsky. Like Jim Jansen, he has appeared in Matlock, Hangin’ With Mr Cooper, Murphy Brown, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Diagnosis Murder, and Felicity.
DWIGHT: [on answering machine]Hey, it’s Dwight. Leave me a message. Namaste.
Namaste, a Hindu greeting, farewell, thank you, and acknowledgement. It literally means “bowing to you” in Sanskrit, often translated as “I bow to the divine in you”. It is usually spoken with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest.
Dwight using this as his answering machine greeting is probably meant to reflect his embracing of “exotic” cultures in his search for a new, more relaxed life. I can see him signing up for Miss Patty’s yoga classes.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 