Introduction

A Tale of a Rabbi and $10,000: Let's play The Shivah!

The Shivah (2006) is a Jewish noir indie point-and-click adventure game written and designed by Dave Gilbert of the Blackwell series fame and published by Wadjet Eye Games. In Judaism, a shivah is the week-long period of mourning that begins immediately after the funeral. During the shivah, family members gather in the house of the deceased and receive visitors.

If you want to play along, you can buy the game here for the reasonable price of $4.99: http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/the-shivah.html
(WARNING: The screenshots on the official The Shivah page contain heavy spoilers! If you were thinking about buying the game, do so by all means, but don't look at the screenshots on the official page!)*
_{* Thanks to 100 HOGS AGREE for the link, and to RoeCocoa for the spoiler warning}

The story
Russell Stone is a Jewish Rabbi at a poor synagogue in New York City. He is a devout man with a problem. Membership is way down and he lacks the funds to keep his synagogue open. Things are looking very bleak, and he has grown progressively more cynical and bitter with the passage of time. Just as he is on the verge of packing it all in, however, he receives some interesting news...

The Shivah not only tells an instructive tale of the misadventures of one New York Rabbi, it also features rabbinical conversation ways, crime, intrigue, age-old questions asked of God by man, and three different endings. Simply put, it is, I believe, one of the most unique adventure games around. And no, you don't have to be Jewish to follow the LP or enjoy the game.

The LP
This will be a screenshot LP, with minimal commentary on my part. I'd rather let the game speak for itself. Sometimes I will be making references to the multi-volume Encyclopaedia Judaica (Thomson Gale 2007), though, as well as various Internet resources. The game isn't exactly lengthy, so this will only be a short diversion. There are, however, multiple endings, and there will be a couple of opportunities for audience participation. Oh, and

SPOILERS ARE NOT KOSHER

Not even under the tags.

The Let's Play Archive

The Shivah

by CrookedB

Introduction

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