Film as Pardes – Architecture of Meaning

A Pre-Prophetic film is not flat. Like the Torah, it is built layer upon layer of meaning. We are called to rise above the revealed storyline, and to create a whole, multi-dimensional world, gradually revealing its secret.

Our model for this is ancient: the Pardes (פרד"ס). This term, whose literal meaning is "orchard" or "garden," describes the Jewish worldview according to which every sacred text has four layers of depth of meaning, from the Pshat (פשט - the revealed and simple layer) to the Sod (סוד - the inner and hidden layer). Pshat, Remez, Drash, Sod.

These are not techniques, but four layers of cinematic existence:

Pshat (פְּשָׁט) – The Revealed Reality: This is the narrative layer, what "really" happens in the world of the film. The plot, the physical actions of the characters, the revealed dialogue. This is the necessary basis, the story that the viewer follows with his intellect. But this is only the outer garment of the truth.

Remez (רֶמֶז) – The Symbolic Reality: This is the layer where the physical world begins to hint at what is beyond it. Here, an object is not just an object, a color is not just a color, and a place is not just a background. It is a network of visual motifs, recurring symbols, and hidden connections that create an inner language for the film. A broken clock on the wall, a crack in the ceiling, a garment of a certain color – these are the "hints" through which the soul of the film begins to speak

Drash (דְּרָשׁ) – The Human Reality (Psychological and Moral): This is the layer where the film demands (Doresh) and interprets the human condition. It is not embedded in one tool, but is created from the connection and collision between elements. The montage (editing), which creates new meaning from placing one shot next to another; the character's developmental arc, which reveals a psychological truth; and the emotional journey that the soundtrack and the acting lead the viewer on – all these together are the "Drash." This is the place where the film expresses a position on questions of morality, soul, and society.

Sod (סוֹד) – The Revealed Reality (Metaphysical): This is the most sublime and dangerous layer, the place where the film stops being a story and becomes a revelation. The "Sod" is not a message that can be deciphered, but a direct experience of the innermost reality, of the inconceivable. Why can "Sod" not be taught in public? As Manitou teaches, because the Sod is the most inner and personal experience. When it is transmitted to the masses, each person interprets it completely differently, and the common discourse collapses. Therefore, in cinema too, the Sod cannot be served on a platter; it can only be hinted at.

How, then, does one reveal a secret? Rav Kook teaches us a revolutionary principle: "Secrets must be explained and understood by secrets precisely... and not by revealed things... Precisely the hidden by the hidden is explained." Any attempt to "translate" the Sod into logical language is, in Gematria and in essence – Tardema (תרדמה - slumber). Therefore, the role of the film is not to explain the secret, but to place one secret against another secret – image against image, a wondrous moment against another wondrous moment. From this chain of secrets, a truth deeper than any explanation flashes forth.

The Synthesis: The Sod as the True Pshat

The four layers are not separate. They resonate with each other and flow into each other. The "Remez" deepens the "Pshat," the "Drash" is built on both, and the "Sod" illuminates them all in a new light. But ultimately, as the Torah of Kabbalah teaches, the goal is to understand that the Sod is the true Pshat. The highest revelation is not an escape from reality, but seeing the simple, everyday reality in its infinite depth. A complete creation is one in which all the layers work together and lead the viewer to the thrilling moment when he understands that the greatest secret was revealed before him all along.