Leap Date:
February 2, 1974

Teaser:

As a Rabbi, Sam must prevent a Jewish family from falling apart when the wife of his brother contemplates having an affair. Her husband is a bitter man due to the loss of their son and has stopped communicating with their daughter as well. Sam has to bring them all together and save the family.

Audio from this episode:

Al: I wish a hologram could eat.

TV Guide Teaser:

Sam leaps into a rabbi's life and has to stop his sister-in-law from having an affair that would break up his brother's fragile family. Irene Basch: Terri Hanauer. Joe Basch: James Sutorius. Bert Glasserman: Russ Tamblyn. Karen: Lindsay Fisher. Sam: Scott Bakula.

Synopsis & Review:

Sam has leapt in the middle of a Jewish Bat Mitzvah. This would be fine, except he is in the guise of David Basch (leapee played by John J. Reiner), the rabbi conducting the ceremony! Fortunately, the main ceremony is finishing, David's niece Karen Basch (played by Lindsay Fisher) is pronounced an adult, and the service moves to the reception. Al arrives in time to help Sam get through his duties of breaking the bread and dancing the Hora – Al's third wife, Ruth, was Jewish.

All is not well at the reception though, David's brother Joe Basch (James Sutorius) is not happy at all and refuses to dance with his wife Irene (Terri Hanauer), so she dances with a friend, Bert Glasserman (Russ Tamblyn). Many of the female guests discuss their disbelief at Bert still being single and not having moved on from the death of his wife two years ago, although it seems that some of these women know more than they are letting on. One of the female guests asks to speak to Sam the next day. Al tells Sam that he has leapt here because of Irene – she has a one-night stand which gets found out and destroys the family, something Karen never gets over.

At home, Karen unwraps her presents, and Joe makes the excuse of needing to fill up his car (as there is a fuel shortage) and turns her down when she wants to accompany him. Joe asks Sam to go with him though, as he wants to talk. He reminisces about his childhood with his father and brother, watching basketball games with his son, and laments having thoughts of having an affair. Al suggests to Sam that both Joe and Irene should each have a one-night stand to get it out of their systems and maybe Sam should just try to prevent each of them from finding out about the other. Sam immediately rejects this idea, because fidelity is the foundation of a marriage. Irene catches Sam talking to himself, but he covers it up by saying he is rehearsing for his next sermon.

Later, after losing a game of Scrabble with Karen, Sam picks up a nearby guitar to play, but this causes Karen distress, as it is “Danny’s” guitar. Sam brings this up at dinner, and learns that Danny, Joe and Irene's son, recently died. Irene wants to discuss setting his headstone, but Joe doesn't want to talk about it. Sam realizes that their grief is tearing the family apart and asks to spend the night there. While Irene is making his bed (in Danny's room, because it's the only free bed) she reminisces about her son and breaks down. She blames herself for his death, because it was she who allowed Danny to go on the backpacking trip that led to his death – the plane crashed on the way. Sam comforts her and then concludes that he (or rather David) is her lover.

Sam and Al discuss it, and realize that Sam can't leap until he can prevent the one night stand from ever happening once David leaps back. The next day, Irene, Sam and Karen are preparing for a bake sale at the Temple. Irene's friend Bert approaches Irene, reminisces about his late wife, and explains that since her death he has been focusing on writing – a book he claims is about dealing with the loss of a loved one. He asks Irene if she would like to contribute to it, as it might be therapeutic for her to talk about her grief. Meanwhile, Sam is approached by the woman who the night before had asked to talk with him. In private, she confesses to him that she had been having an affair with Bert Glasserman, who had approached her in a moment of weakness after her father's death, saying “all the right things”.

While packing, Sam talks to Irene, who thanks him for supporting the family during this difficult time. He suggests that Irene and Joe spend the weekend at their beach house to clear their heads, but Joe declines. When Irene says that Joe should listen to David as he knows what they need, Joe says “maybe you should have married David then”. Irene goes to the beach house alone, and Karen confides to Sam that she wishes her mother had married David too, because she feels that her father only loved Danny and wishes she had died instead.

Sam comforts her and then asks for directions to the beach house after realizing that it is actually Bert with whom Irene will have the one-night stand. Al explains to Sam that Bert Glasserman is a real slimeball. He has never been married and uses the story of having a recently passed wife to seduce grieving women and use them as research for his book “Women in Pain”, which would become a bestseller in the 1970s. Irene is chapter six.

Sam's instinct was correct, Bert had followed Irene to the beach house and was making his moves. Sam arrives at the beach house just as Bert and Irene have begun kissing. He reveals the truth about Bert and his book, whereupon Irene slaps him in the face several times and throws him out. She then breaks down in Sam's arms. However, at that moment Joe arrives and comes to the same wrong conclusion as Sam did before, namely that David and Irene are having an affair. Joe hits Sam a few times, but Sam is able to convince Joe that this isn't true. Joe breaks down and finally talks about his grief. Irene comforts him and they reconcile.

Al reveals that Bert's book will never be published because Irene blows the whistle on his research methods, but that Irene and Joe are writing a book and it is helping many parents deal with the loss of a child. Al thinks Sam will now leap, but Sam has one more thing to do. At the placing of Danny's headstone, he convinces Joe to be more affectionate towards his daughter Karen, stating that he has already lost a son, he should not lose a daughter too. Joe tells Karen how much he loves her, and after a final hug from the newly-repaired family, Sam leaps. Source

Dealing with and acceptance of the death of a loved one, (especially a child) is one of the most difficult situations any of us will face in life. Sam mission in this leap was three-fold and intertwined: (1) Save Joe and Irene's marriage; (2) prevent Karen's alienation from her father because of his fixation on his son (Danny); and (3) by helping Joe accept and deal with the loss of his son. I like this episode because it focuses on the importance of family as well as showing how easily it can be destroyed.

The leap date was in the Jewish year 5734.

Jewish rituals:

Karen's Bat Mitzvah:
The Bat Mitzvah is the ceremony which takes place when a child is
thirteen years old, signifies the point at which that child has acquired
enough maturity, responsibility and knowledge to be considered an adult
for religious purposes.

The Blessing Over The Bread (Ha-Motzi):
Barukh atah Adonai Elohaynu melekh ha-olam
Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the Universe

ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz. (Amein)
who brings forth bread from the earth. (Amen)

The Blessing Over the Bread (Ha-Motzi) represents the Lord's
provision...and gives thanks to the Lord for all the bounty of our
lives.

The Hora:
A lively traditional Jewish dance usually performed at weddings and
the celebratory meal after a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.

The setting of the headstone:
It is a custom for friends and family to assemble at the unveiling of
a grave stone, usually a year after death.

The Mourner's Kaddish:
- This is the prayer Joe Basch was reciting - as well as being so
beautifully sung - in the cemetery. (The words of the Mourner's Kaddish
-in Hebrew and English):

THE MOURNER'S KADDISH - (a prayer of remembrance) ... a blessing of
memory.

Yit-ga-dal ve-yit-ka-dash she-mei ra-ba be-al-ma di-ve-ra
chi-re-u-tei,

ve-yam-lich mal-chu-tei be-cha-yei-chon u-ve-yo-mei-chon u-ve-cha-yei

de-chol beit Yis-ra-eil, ba-a-ga-la u-vi-ze-man ka-riv ve-i-me-ru:
a-mein.

Ye-hei she-mei ra-ba me-va-rach le-a-lam u-le-al-mei al-ma-ya.

Yit-ba-rach ve-yish-ta-bach, ve-yit-pa-ar ve-yit-ro-man ve-yit-na-sei
ve-yit-ha-dar

ve-yit-a-leh ve-yit-ha-lal she-mei de-ku-de-sha be-rich hu, le-ei-la min
kol

bi-re-cha-ta ve-shi-ra-ta tush-be-cha-ta ve-ne-che-ma-ta da-a-mi-ran
be-al-ma,

ve-i-me-ru: a-mein.

Ye-hei- she-la-ma ra-ba min she-ma-ya ve-cha-yim a-lei-nu ve-al kol
Yis-ra-eil

ve-i-me-ru: a-mein.

O-seh sha-lom bi-me-ro-mav, hu ya-a-seh sha-lom a-lei-nu ve-al kol

Yis-ra-eil, ve-i-me-ru: a-mein.

***

English translation:

Let the Glory of God be exalted, let God's great name be hallowed in the
world whose

creation God willed. May God's rule soon prevail, in our own day, our
own lives, and

the life of all Israel, and let us say: Amen

Let God's great name be blessed for ever and ever.

Let the name of the Holy One, blessed is God, be glorified, exalted, and
honored, though

God is beyond all the praises, songs and adorations that are uttered in
this world, and

let us say: Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life for us and all Israel,
and

let us say: Amen.

May the one who makes peace in the high heavens, make peace descend on
us and

upon all Israel, and let us say: Amen.*

Bloopers:

Kiss with History:

The gasoline shortage / lines at the gas pumps.

Sam performs the Heimlich Maneuver on Dr. Henry J. Heimlich, thus giving the doctor the idea, which he publishes that year.

Guest Cast Notes:

James Sutorius as Joe Basch: Veteran theater actor James Sutorius has performed for the most prestigious regional and repertory companies in the country including California's Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, Huntington Hartford, South Coast Repertory, and Pasadena Playhouse, as well as Lincoln Center, Yale Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Long Wharf Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Asolo State Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Arizona Repertory and Cherry Lane Theatre. While he has displayed his talents in scores of TV and film assignments over a three-decade period, his heart has remained true to the theater. Most recently he was seen on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre in Aaron Sorkin's new play "The Farnsworth Invention" that was directed by Des McAnuff and produced by Steven Spielberg. In 2007 he won two San Diego Theatre Critics Awards for his memorable performance as George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and for his multiple supporting roles in John Strand's play "Lincolnesque". Prior to that he was selected to co-star in Arthur Laurents "2 Lives" at the George Street Playhouse in New York and in Charles L. Mee Jr.'s play "A Perfect Wedding" at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. James made an auspicious Broadway debut in 1973 with "The Changing Room." In his very first entrance as a member of a rugby team, he had to walk downstage and strip off all his clothes! Instead of finding the experience terrifying, he actually found it liberating. Two years later he was playing Laertes at the Vivian Beaumont opposite Sam Waterston's Hamlet, and alongside a rising cast of stars that included Jane Alexander, Mandy Patinkin, George Hearn and John Heard. Following that in 1978 he played the son of Cameron Mitchell and Jan Sterling in "The November People" at the Billy Rose Theatre. In the mid-1970s James broke into TV. With his intense good looks, he was deemed to play a number of no-nonsense professional types as well as heavies in dramatic programs. After guest roles on such shows as "Cannon" and "Kojak," he found series regular work supporting Bob Crane on his short-lived sitcom The Bob Crane Show (1975). His break, however, came when he nabbed the starring role of investigative reporter Mike Andros in the one-season The Andros Targets (1977), which filmed on the streets of New York. This success convinced him to make a decisive move to Los Angeles. Appearing in a number of notable TV movies including A Death in Canaan (1978), A Question of Love (1978), Skokie (1981), Space (1985) and On Wings of Eagles (1986), he went on to guest star on the most popular series of the day ("St. Elsewhere," "Family Ties," "21 Jump Street," "Murder, She Wrote," "L.A. Law," "The X Files", "Judging Amy"). He also found occasional recurring stints on such shows as "Dynasty". Sporadic film work came along in the form of I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) starring Jill Clayburgh and Windy City (1984) with John Shea and Kate Capshaw. One special highlight was his highly successful return to Broadway in 1992 when he replaced "Monk" actor Tony Shalhoub as son Charlie in the hard-hitting, Tony Award-winning play "Conversations with My Father" opposite Judd Hirsch.

Terri Hanauer as Irene Basch: A United States/Canadian citizen, Terri Hanauer graduated with an honors degree in Theater Arts from York University, Toronto. She has worked in both countries as an actress in film, television, commercials and theatre (appearing at the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles and the Arena Stage, Washington D.C.). Her background as an actress and photographer led her to directing. She directed her first short film, "A Day in the Life, " which screened at numerous festivals. She was accepted into AFI's Directing Workshop for Women. Her second short film, Recycling Flo (2004), was chosen by AFI to represent it at the Cannes Film Festival - International Short Film Corner. Along with being official selection in over 50 film festivals, "Recycling Flo" won two Best Film/Jury prizes at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival and the Farmington Comedy Film Festival. She has co-directed 13 half-hour episodes of Zane's Sex Chronicles (2008) for HBO/Afterdark. She recently directed her first feature film, Sweet Talk (2013). It is distributed by Gravitas Ventures and American World Pictures and is available on Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, Vudu and iTunes. On stage, she directed Peter Lefcourt's popular "Café Society" at the Odyssey Theatre where she received Honorable Best Director and the cast received Best Ensemble in a Comedy Award from Stage Scene LA. She directed John Bishop's "The Trip Back Down" at the Whitefire Theatre for which she was nominated by Broadway World for Best Director.

Lindsay Fischer as Karen Basch: Prior to her appearance as Karen Basch
on Quantum Leap, Lindsay Fisher made guest starring appearances in such other TV shows as: The Wonder Years (1989 & 1991) , and Roseanne (3 appearances in 1990).

Russ Tamblyn as Bert Glasserman: Russ wasn't discovered, he discovered show business at the age of 5 when, with other youngsters at Inglewood, California, he went to Saturday matinees at the Granada Theatre. One afternoon while waiting for the show to start he got on the stage and did an impromptu dance which the kids loved. He repeated it the following week and became so popular that when he didn't appear there was almost a riot. The theater manager spoke to his parents and his mother let him take dancing lessons. Once started on a career he expanded his talents to take in singing and acrobatics performing his first back flip at 10. He later added juggling, a magic act, piano, and drums to his talents which made him a regular performer at local clubs. He made his stage debut with a small theater group directed by Lloyd Bridges which in turn led to his film debut in 'The Boy With Green Hair' followed by a part in 'Samson and Delilah' and the title role in 'The Kid From Cleveland.' He earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for 'Peyton Place' receiving high praise from both director Mark Robson and choreographer Michael Kidd, who was a close friend of Jerome Robbins, and who'd worked with Russ on 'Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.' Summoned for both a dancing and acting screen test with Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins he was cast as Riff the leader of the Jets in the Oscar winning film 'West Side Story.' In his films up to 1952 he was credited as Rusty Tamblyn and Russ Tamblyn after that. He also played Dr. Lawrence Jacoby in both the film and TV series Twin Peaks.

Jill Jacobson as Shirley Winnick: Jill Jacobson was born in Texas, USA. She is known for Falcon Crest (1981), Boredom (2015) and Mic Whore (2014).

Twink Caplan as Hannah: Twink Caplan was born on December 25, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Clueless (1995), Feud (2017) and Look Who's Talking (1989).

Magda Haout as Miriam Dalwitz: Magda Harout was born on April 22, 1926 in Van Nuys, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Baggage Claim (2013), The Golden Girls (1985) and Quantum Leap (1989). She was married to Robert T. Kardashian. She died on September 9, 2021 in North Hollywood, California, USA.

Freyda Thomas as Maxine: Freyda Thomas is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Murder, She Wrote (1984).

Joie Magidow as Woman: Joie Magidow is known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1981) and Quantum Leap (1989).

John J . Reiner as Rabbi David K. Basch (Mirror Image): John J. Reiner is known for Community (2009), Quantum Leap (1989) and Abby 33 (2010).

Milt Hamerman as Harold Dalwitz: Milt Hamerman was born on September 30, 1925 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a casting director and actor, known for The Power of the Resurrection (1958), Quantum Leap (1989) and High Desert Kill (1989). He died on February 24, 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Jay Frailich as Cantor: Jay Frailich is known for Quantum Leap (1989), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) and Bloodlines: Murder in the Family (1993).

Patti Pivaar as Singer: Patti Pivaar is known for Quantum Leap (1989), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) and Charlie's Angels (1976).

The word "hose" in Scrabble is worth a minimum of 7 points - not 6.

Joe is worried about going away for the weekend. However, the weekend is almost over as the leap-in was on a Sunday.

Sam's Best Line:

"You've lost a son. Don't lose a daughter, too."

Production Credits:

Music by: Mike Post
Supervising Producers: Deborah Pratt, Paul M. Belous, Robert Wolterstorff
Co-producers: Paul Brown, Jeff Gourson, Chris Ruppenthal
Produced by: Harker Wade
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario
Written by: Tammy Ader
Directed by: Randy Roberts

Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Associate Producers: David Bellisario
Director of Photography: Michael Watkins
Production Designer: Cameron Birnie
Edited by: N. Mario Di Gregorio
Unit Production Manager: Ron Grow
First Assistant Director: Paul Sirmons
Second Assistant Director: Rob Mendel
Casting by: Ellen Lubin Sanitsky
Set Director: Robert L. Zilliox
Costume Designer: Jean-Pierre Dorleac
Costume Supervisors: David Rawley & Donna Roberts-Orme
Sound Mixer: Mark Hopkins McNabb
Stunt Coordinator: Diamond Farnsworth
Contributing Musical Composers: Velton Ray Bunch and Jerry Grant
Sound Editor: Paul Clay
Music Editor: Tom Gleason

Panaflex ® Camera and Lenses by: Panavision ®

This motion picture is protected under laws of the United States and other countries. Unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and criminal prosecution.

Copyright © 1989 by Universal City Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

Bellisarius Productions and Universal, an MCA Company

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