The meaning of things: to be or not to be a spiritual series (critical)

Elsa Guedj embodies an endearing rabbine in a series full of spirit, which speaks beautifully about faith, religion, life with others, thanks to an impeccable cast.

The family, love, children, people, death … Life in short, it is Lea’s daily bread, which has just been named Rabbi woman in a synagogue in Strasbourg. The young thirties still lives with her father and juggling between her spiritual vocation and her personal life marked by doubts, upset loves and complex family relationships. Against the background of Judaism and tradition, the series aims to explore with finesse and humor the question of faith, transmission and search for meaning in an era in loss of bearings.

Inspired by the book Live with our deaths by Delphine Horvilleur, Noah Debré and Benjamin Charbit dare to speak religion with great fingering in The meaning of things (which arrives on March 28 on max) … a thousand places from the Zorrothat they signed last year.

The great strength of Sense of thingsit is undoubtedly Elsa Guedj. The revelation of Funny (On Netflix) signs a funny performance in the skin of this rabbine in lack of insurance. With impressive sincerity and accuracy, she embodies a woman of faith in fragility, a spiritual guide confronted with the same uncertainties as those she accompanies. Elsa Guedj manages to breathe into Lea an undeniable humanity without ever falling into the caricature of a frozen religious figure.

Around it, the distribution is in tune. Éric Elmosnino camps a father overwhelmed by the choices of his daughter, while Noémie Lvovsky,, Solal Bouloudnine And Manu Payet Bring a touch of humor and tenderness to this religious account which fortunately avoids heavy austerity. A true series of characters, she puts everything on her dialogues, lively and honest.

The meaning of things shines by its intelligence and its sensitivity, but remains a singular proposition, which recounts the traditions of Jewish religion in its smallest detail, which explores – in a sometimes didactic way – the habits and customs of Judaism. We can find it interesting but we also have the right to find it a little bit boring.

The sense of things, to be seen on the Max platform from March 28, 2025.