By Cynthia Citron

Let me say unequivocally, right from the start,  that Hal Linden is a man that any lusty middle-aged housewife would gladly leave her husband for.  He sings.  He dances.  He charms. He is funny, and he listens.  And he does it all with such authenticity and ease that you just know he isn't acting. Who could ask for anything more?

Hal Linden plays Hal Linden once again in a delightful new play by Wendy Graf called Lessons. In this one he plays Ben Foster, a man he calls a "watered-down Jew," two generations removed from the religious orthodoxy of his grandfather.  Raised in a household in which his parents had "a Christmas tree, not a menorah," he was married for 48 years to a Christian woman.  "Every generation we lose something," he says.  His two sons are even farther removed from their heritage: one has married an Asian woman and the other is gay.  "His and his partner's idea of a Shabbas dinner would be to order in Chinese and watch a video of Fiddler on the Roof, he says ruefully.

Now a widower, and faced with his own mortality, he decides to give himself the bar mitzvah he never had.  In preparation, he comes to study with Mare Winningham, a disaffected rabbi with a prickly exterior and all the warmth of a hooded cobra.  "I come with an edge, in case you didn't notice," she tells him.  But from here on in it's a love story.

His love for his newly discovered Yiddishkeit is as rapturous as his  polite and careful love for her.  And though there is only one chaste hug between them, it is as affecting as a full-blown love scene.  Linden, as always, can do no wrong, and he is delicious to watch.

Winningham, on the other hand, although she is a marvelous actress, seems somehow miscast as a rabbi.  A Hebrew teacher, maybe, but not a rabbi.  She just doesn't look Jewish, as the old joke goes, even though in real life Winningham is a convert to Judaism and a Torah scholar.  But not to worry; the chemistry is there, and under Adam Davidson's impeccable direction they warm to their roles and melt your heart.

Lessons is aptly named.  The story progresses from basic "Aleph Beis" to full-blown Torah portions, and by the time it's over you feel as if you could ascend to the bima and give your own bar mitzvah speech. This quest for faith—in his case, a faith he's never had, and in hers a faith that she's forsaken—is a poignant plea that touches everyone, Jewish or not.

Lessons is a co-production of the West Coast Jewish Theatre, The Group at Strasberg, and Gail Katz Productions.  It will run at the Marilyn Monroe Theater at the Lee Strasberg Creative Center, 7936 Santa Monica Blvd., in West Hollywood, through August 27.

Citron is scheduled to discuss "Lessons" on the Ira Fistell show, KABC Radio, 790 AM, on August 6.