Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 4, Episode 24 - Elijah - full transcript

Touched By An Angel #424
"Elijah" Closed Captioned

This used to be a neighborhood.

A place for families, where
the children were safe.

They used to play
stickball right down there,

and they'd trade baseball cards,

and they used to shoot marbles.

Used to be a church
on that corner,

and a synagogue on that corner.

So what happened, Tess?

You hear that sound?

Around here that's a lullaby,



and they don't shoot
marbles no more.

They shoot bullets.

It didn't used to be like that.

Times were hard, but the
children still had a chance.

This roof used to be
where one little boy

used to come and
dream of finding a way out.

New York City looks
beautiful from up here.

Now that same little boy

has a fancy apartment
off Central Park.

He made a bundle in real estate.

Now he owns this building and...

a lot more just like it.

So he became a success?

Well, that depends on what you
mean when you say "success."



Jacob Wise, you've
been cited numerous times

for serious code violations.

Failure to provide proper
heat, plumbing, and electricity.

Is there any reason why I
shouldn't throw the book at you?

He's a slumlord.

Quiet, please.

Your Honor, I grew
up in that building.

My father owned it,
and he wasn't a rich man,

he wasn't a slumlord.

He was a canter at
the local synagogue,

and his tenants respected
him because in those days

people weren't lazy,
living off welfare.

In those days,
Brooklyn was different.

He means it was white.

He means it was Jewish.

This isn't about
race or religion.

It's about the right
to decent housing.

Your Honor,

I'm not on welfare, and
my husband works hard.

Right now, he's in the hospital.

He got burned real bad when
a fire broke out in our kitchen

'cause this man
wouldn't fix the wiring.

Bet if he was living
there he'd fix it.

Mr. Wise, this young man
makes an excellent point.

Perhaps you need
some encouragement.

So I'm going to sentence you to
serve 14 days under house arrest

in your own run-down,

rat-infested tenement.

Your movements
will be monitored,

and hopefully your
consciousness will be raised.

Sentence to begin
this Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Next case.

He doesn't look like a slumlord.

Well, maybe not on the outside,

but inside his heart
is just as run down

as that building,

and just as close
to falling apart.

Captioning sponsored by CBS
PARAMOUNT TELEVISION

♪ When you walk down the road ♪

♪ Heavy burden, heavy load ♪

♪ I will rise and I
will walk with you ♪

♪ I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Till the sun
don't even shine ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Every time, I tell
you I'll walk with you ♪

♪ Walk with you ♪

♪ Believe me, I'll
walk with you. ♪

No, no, Sammy, you listen to me.

Now, now there's got
to be a way around this.

Now you, you, you
find us a loophole.

Hold on.

No, don't... He put me on hold.

Look, Ma, how many
times have I told you,

you got to check the peephole
before you open the door?

Jacob, I feel very
safe in this building.

Mm-hmm. You own it.

You can be a very
good landlord, Mm-hmm.

When you want to be.

Yeah.

Well, that judge is a moron.

He thinks if I, if I
live in that dump

for two weeks,

things will change...
I got news for him.

I'm not lifting a finger.

Every time I try
to fix something,

those people steal
it or they break it.

Those people?

Jacob, where did you get that?

Not from me,

or from your papa, and it
wasn't a dump when he owned it.

No, it was a one-man charity.

Always lending
money to, to deadbeats

and letting the rents slide,

spending a fortune
on maintenance.

He was a good man.

Yeah, he was a
lousy businessman.

I smell soup?

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Huh?

It's not for dinner. Huh?

It's for Passover.

I invited Michael... and Lisa.

Ma, I love you, you know that,

but I don't want anything
to do with Passover or Lisa.

Now, when it's over, it's over.

Jacob, listen to me.

Just because Lisa's filed,

doesn't mean she'll
go through with it.

She still loves you.

Oh, she loves me.

That's why she turns
my son against me?

Michael, it's like
he's ashamed of me.

Jacob, what's happened to you?

We raised you to be a good
husband and a good father,

like your papa.

Yeah, and if I grew up like him

we'd still be stuck in that
dump, prayin' to God to provide.

Look, I got news for you.

God didn't get us
out of Brooklyn, I did,

and I'm not going back.

Hello?

Sam, Sam? Yeah, Sammy, listen.

No, no, no, wait, Sam.

Now, now you file a motion, you
get a continuance or something.

I'm not spending 14
days in that building.

Hello.

Jacob Wise?

Yeah.

My name is Monica.

I'm the Code
Enforcement Supervisor.

Oh, what, what
code do you enforce?

Zip code, area code, Morse code?

A sense of humor.

I like that.

Yeah, well, I'm a likeable guy.

Not according to your tenants
at 13750 Flatbush Avenue.

Sit down.

Thank you.

I have a list here of
over 500 violations

and it's my job

to ensure that you
correct all of them.

Yeah, and, and it's
all my fault, right?

Umm, Mr. Sanchez
in 5-E is disabled,

and he's not been able to get
out of the apartment building

since the elevator
stopped working.

Yeah, well, the last time
we sent a repair truck there

it got broken into.

Now, can I help it if they
don't want to come back?

How about Yvette Washington?

She was bitten by a rat.

Yeah, well, maybe she
should get off her butt

and can set some rat traps.

She's two years of age.

She was bitten in her crib.

You know, Mr. Wise,
our records show

that your father was
a wonderful landlord.

Heart of gold.

Yeah, far be it from him

to throw out anybody
didn't pay the rent.

That's why the
building was mortgaged

up the wazoo.

Yeah, and when he died
he left us holding the bag.

I was 13.

I'm sorry. I didn't know that.

Yeah, well, I learned
about money at an early age.

So, what's it gonna take to
get you off my back, hmm?

I'll make this out to "cash."

You can just give me a number.

You don't know who
you're dealing with,

but I'll give you an
opportunity to put that away.

Michael.

This is my son.

Michael, this is Monica.

She was just leaving.

See you in Brooklyn, Mr. Wise.

Don't hold your breath.

They're trying to
nail your old man,

but I won't go
down without a fight.

Yeah... I read all about it.

Yeah...

so you think I'm a
bad person, hmm?

Ashamed of your old man?

You should be glad
that you have a father.

When I was your
age... I know, I know.

Grandpa died.

That's always your excuse.

It's not an excuse.

It's the sad truth.

I was head of the family at 13.

Then be head of the family now.

Come to Passover at Grandma's.

Dad, it would really
mean a lot to her.

And to Mom.

Mike... you know,

your mother, me, Passover...
It's not a good combination.

Well, if you change your
mind, it's Friday night.

Friday night?

At sundown.

Wait a second.

I might be able to
swing something.

This better be good.

I'll give you 30
seconds, Mr. Wise.

Go.

Thank you, Your Honor.

This Friday, at
sundown, is Passover,

and it's one of the holiest
days in the life of a Jew,

and it's, it's where
we celebrate

our deliverance
from slavery in Egypt,

and it's not fair to
be locking me up

when I should be home

celebrating freedom
with my family.

That's very
interesting, Mr. Wise,

because I'm Jewish, too.

Well, then you know.

In fact, I belong to the
same synagogue as you do.

I've seen your wife there

and your son, but
I've never seen you.

Sentence stands.

You're fired.

Fired? Jake?

Jake?

That Jake is always firing
somebody, pushing 'em away.

He's what you might call
an equal opportunity offender.

He offends the people he hates,

and he offends
the people he loves.

Every time I see
the Sabbath candles,

it feels as though
Papa's in the room.

Jacob, you're going to
wear a hole in that carpet.

Yeah, well, excuse
me for not getting

into the spirit of
Passover here,

but they're coming
to get me any minute

and my lawyer hasn't called.

I thought you fired your lawyer.

Now I got a new one.

See if it's the police.

No, the peephole, the peephole.

It's just the Wallachs.

The Wallachs? Why'd
you invite the Wallachs?

They're not Jewish.

Everyone's welcome at
Passover, you know that.

The Wallachs...

Hello, everyone.

Happy Passover, Elaine.

We brought you some wine. Oh.

It's kosher, right?

Perfect.

Welcome. Come on in.

Hello, Scott. Hello, Elaine.

Oh, look how nice you all look.

Now, you remember my son, Jacob.

Jacob?

Hi. Their coats.

Well, here, here.

There.

Have you ever been
to a Seder before?

No?

Well, it's a very
special dinner,

a celebration.

Like Thanksgiving?

Yes.

Yes, there certainly is
a lot to be thankful for.

Oh, excuse me.

Excuse me.

What, what?

Mom...

It's Michael and Lisa.

Hey, you guys.

Come on in.

Hi, Grandma.

Jacob, look who's here.

Hi, Dad.

Hi, Michael.

Lisa.

Jake.

I'll go help Grandma.

And that's why we have a
shank bone on this plate,

to remind us how our
children were spared.

You see, God told the Angel

of Death to pass over

any house that had the
blood of a lamb on the door.

That's gross.

Oh, no.

No, it's beautiful.

Our ancestors

had to trust God that
everything would be

all right.

Excuse me.

New York Police Department.

We're here for Jacob Weiss.

I just fixed that.

Welcome to the
neighborhood, Mr. Weiss.

Here you go.

Put those on your legs.

What are they doing, Tess?

That's an electronic
monitor, baby.

He can't walk out of here
without them knowing it.

He may look free,

but he's a prisoner in here now.

Well, it's a shame
that he couldn't at least

spend Passover with his family.

Don't worry about
it, Angel Girl.

God has a special
kind of Passover

planned for Jake this year.

You're going to
have to fix that door.

What do you want?

You can call me Officer Tess.

This is a lovely
place you have here.

You people really enjoy
being smug, don't you?

Which "you people" do
you mean, Mr. Weiss?

Oh, excuse me.

The cockroaches and I

didn't get a lot of
sleep last night.

We had a baby crying

next door, and this thing is...

itching me to death.

Uh-huh, well, you'd better
leave that thing alone,

'cause it's a very
sensitive instrument.

And if you go beyond
100 feet out of this building,

or if you tamper
with it in any way,

it will send an
electrical signal

straight to the
police department,

where you are being
monitored by yours truly.

Any questions?

Yeah. How do I take
a bath in this thing?

If I was you, I wouldn't.

What, am I supposed
to starve to death?

You're allowed to shop
between noon and 1:00,

not one minute longer.

Any other questions?

Good.

Hey!

Hey, shut up in there!

Good morning, Jake.

I see you already know
about the substandard ceiling.

See, this is the first problem
you're going to need to handle.

There are no fire extinguishers.

That's 'cause the minute
I put one in, it gets stolen.

And do you know how
much those things cost?

People will bleed me dry.

Mrs. Hernandez,

when are you going
to pay your rent?

When I get my disability.

Excuse me, ma'am?

Mm-hmm?

You going to help us
with that rat problem?

I certainly hope so.

Well, you could start with him.

Look, the neighborhood's
full of punks like him.

That's the problem around here.

Maybe not, Mr. Weiss.

Maybe it's people who don't
care about punks like him

or the conditions
that they grow up in.

Monica, if I tried
to help everybody,

I would end up like my father,

in debt up to here,

unable to support my own family

any better than the
rest of these losers here.

Now, I'm telling you, you
want to solve this problem,

you get rid of the
deadbeat tenants.

Now, they never move
out, you can't get 'em out.

According to my list,

there are only two
vacant apartments...

The one that you're in,

and one down
the end of the hall.

Jake... are you all right?

Did you hear that?

What?

I got to take a break.

Tess, what's wrong?

What's wrong is

Jake is beginning to
remember what's right.

Yo.

Bet you got a cell phone, too.

A wad of dough-re-mi, huh?

Why don't you just paint a big

bull's-eye on your back?

I mean, everybody
around here hates you.

How far did you think you
was gonna get with all that stuff?

Look, leave me alone,
kid. I only got an hour.

What?! What?!

I see it like this.

You need protection
and I need capital.

Maybe we could work out
some type of arrangement.

The name's Tyler.

It's nice.

You did good.

What do I owe you?

$2,000.

Wh-What?!

You said $1,000.

Yeah.

$1,000 for the stuff,
another for insurance.

What insurance?

The kind of insurance
my father didn't have

when the fire broke
out in our kitchen.

Now, I figure he's going to
need some breathing room

when he gets out, and
you should provide it.

Yeah, well, all I got's $1,000.

Give me the watch.

What watch?

Left pocket.

You remind me of me
when I was your age.

Hope not.

Don't want to end up
like you when I get older.

Used to be my spot.

Mind if I join you?

It's your building.

I'm going to move
out there some day,

get my family out of this place.

Yeah, I got my family out.

They didn't seem
to appreciate it.

Especially my son.

You got a son?

Yeah.

Michael.

We don't communicate very well.

Well, you got a cell phone.

Why don't you use it?

Hello?

Michael... it's Dad.

Dad?

Dad, are you there?

Yeah.

So, what's it like?

Jake! Come quick! There's
a fire in your apartment!

Uh, M-Michael, I
got to call you back.

Wait, Dad... Dad?

Where's the extinguisher!
I need a fire extinguisher!

We've needed
one for a long time!

Jake.

Let's try it together.

One, two, three.

Good thing you were here.

Thanks for your help.

That's what I'm here for.

Look at this place.

I can't stay here.

What about upstairs?

Oh, God.

Am I going crazy?

No.

Jake, I'm Andrew.

You know who I am.

I saw you that night.

You took my father.

On Passover.

Yes.

Your father tried to leave
you with a message that night.

A message for you to carry on.

But you didn't.

So I'm here.

I'm here because of his prayers.

I'm here to help
you to remember.

Do you remember...

what your mother always says...

every time she sees
a Sabbath candle?

"It's like Papa's in the room."

He was sick that night.

I didn't know how sick.

Ma sent me to a...

a synagogue to get...
candles for Passover,

and, uh, I was supposed
to be back before sundown.

But I got into a fight.

Sol, you should go to bed.

No... I'm all right.

Should I call a doctor?
Just a waste of money.

Jacob, you ruined your suit...

Your brand-new suit!

I'm sorry, Ma.

The candles are broken.

Jacob, come here.

Were you fighting again?

Yes, Papa, but it wasn't my...

Jacob, there's
no excuse for this.

It's Passover.

They saw me coming
out of the synagogue,

and they called me a kike.

Oh, my son.

Who was it this time?

Those black kids from Bed-Stuy.

I hate them!

Jacob, tell me something.

You say they
called you a name...

Did you call them names as well?

Jacob, what does
Passover mean to you?

When we were slaves in
Egypt, God sent plagues.

That's right.

So the pharaoh would free us.

And the last plague, it was...?

Killing of the first born.

But the Jews smeared
lamb's blood on the doors

so when the Angel of Death came,

he passed over their
homes. That's right.

That's the history of Passover.

Do you know what
the spirit is behind it?

It's freedom.

You see, we celebrate
as if we are ourselves

had come out of
bondage into freedom.

From sorrow to gladness.

From darkness to great light.

You know, Jacob,

we weren't the only
people in this country

who were once slaves.

When the black
man was in chains,

do you know what he sang?

♪ When Israel
was in Egypt land ♪

♪ Let my people go ♪

♪ Oppressed so hard,
they could not stand ♪

♪ Let my people go. ♪

You see, they identified
with us, just as we must

identify with them.

We're all brothers.

Black and Jew, everyone.

That's why we set out this cup,

for Elijah, the
Messenger of Peace.

That's why we sing
the song... "Eliyahu."

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Hanavi ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Hatishbi ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Hagiladi. ♪

Jacob, what's the matter?
Why aren't you singing?

Because I don't
believe in Elijah, Papa.

All this freedom you
keep talking about.

Freedom is for rich people,
and we don't even have

enough money
to pay for a doctor.

Jacob, we are rich in our faith.

But you give it away,

and there's nothing left for us.

That's not true, son.

God has always provided for us.

What is the prayer
we say every day?

It's your prayer, not mine.

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart,
with all your soul,

and with all your might.

Teach these words
to your children,

write them upon the
doorposts of your house, and...

Sol, come to bed now.

Come on.

Jacob, get the doctor quick.

Your father just passed out.

Man, you okay?

Where is he?

What's going on here?

You must have had a bad dream.

I got to get out of here!

Look, do you know anyone
that can... can remove that

without setting it off?

I could do some checking around,

but it's gonna cost
you. How much?

Another thousand.

All right, uh, I got to make
some phone calls, but, uh,

I'll have it by tonight.

Man, that's awful fast.

Yeah, well, I can't spend
another night in this place.

Go on, get out of here. Get.

Hello?

Yeah. Lisa, thank
God you're there. Jake?

Yeah. Listen, I
got to talk fast.

I got to... I got to
be back by 1:00,

and, uh, my cell phone is dead.

I'm on my last quarter
on a pay phone.

Now, listen, I need some
money... A thousand dollars.

Is that why you called?

Because you need
a thousand dollars?

Look, please, you
don't understand.

No, Jake, that's the problem...

I do understand.

And I'm tired of understanding.

Is Michael there? Just
put him on the phone.

No.

No, Jake, you can't
speak to your son...

Not until you figure out what

it means to be a father.
What are you talk...

What, do you got a problem?

You're next.

You want trouble?

I'll give you some trouble.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

I hate to pull you
away from your friend,

but it's time to go back inside.

He jus... Now.

Now!

Kind of makes you wonder

how he lasted this
long, doesn't it, Tess?

Every word out of
that man's mouth

is an invitation for trouble.

And one of these days,
somebody's gonna take him up on it.

What are you doing here?

This is a dangerous
neighborhood.

I heard Mom on
the phone with you.

So I brought you the money.

A thousand dollars.

Where'd you get this?

It's my bar mitzvah money.

I thought you were
gonna save that.

I know.

But if you really need it.

You're gonna use it to
help these people, right?

What? You got it?

Yeah. He's downstairs.

All right, I'll be right
down. Hurry up.

Look, Michael, I got
to go... I'll be right back.

You're gonna use

this money for something
bad, aren't you?!

God, why can't you ever

do the right thing, Dad?

Why can't you be
more like Grandpa?

Look, your grandfather
was a weak man.

He-he... People
walked all over him.

He died without a
penny to his name.

Is that what you
want to be like?

I'd rather be poor
and live like Grandpa

than be rich and live like you.

There's some things
you just don't understand.

Now, just give me the money.

Just give me the money!

Just wait here...
I'll be right back.

You got the money?

He's got it.

Yeah, that's right.

You deal with that?

Yeah, yeah. Let
me check that out.

God, you set me up.

Look, man, I didn't
know about this, honest.

Dad?

Wait, wait a minute.

Dad? Look out.

Michael, get back
in the building.

No!

Michael, come on.

Can you hear me?

Help! Help!

Help!

Help!

Somebody call an ambulance!

No.

No.

Oh, no, no.

No, no...

Help me!

Help me!

Mrs. Hernandez, I
need to use your phone!

It's an emergency!

Help me!

I thought I heard a gunshot.

Oh, God, who is that?

It's my son.

How did it happen?

I went outside with, with Tyler.

Tyler? Where's my boy?

Something happened to my boy?

I don't know. Oh, no!

Tyler? Tyler?!

Help me.

Help!

Michael?

What did I do?

Michael... Get up.

Police, come and get me!

Police!

Why did you come here?

Why did you bring me that money?

He came because he loves you.

He was willing to
make a sacrifice.

Monica, my son has been shot.

Yes, I know.

We got to get
him to the hospital.

He's bleeding to death.

You got a car?

No.

Phone?

Listen to me, Jake.

There's no hospital
close enough,

no car fast enough,
no phone capable

of making the
call that you need.

All you can do right now is to
put your son in God's hands.

God?

That's right.

I am an angel.

I have been sent here by God.

Go away.

Go away.

God wants me to stay.

He wants you to
know that he loves you.

You tell him I hate him.

Ah, Jake, hate is not
going to help your son.

In fact, hate is the reason

why he's lying here
bleeding his life away.

God's gonna take
my son, isn't he?

Just like he took my
father in this room.

On Passover when
the Angel of Death

is supposed to pass
over the children of Israel,

he didn't pass over us.

Your father was a good man.

He was good and weak.

All those prayers,
all that charity.

It takes strength to
humble yourself before God.

The kind of strength
that your father had.

What are you talking
about? He's dying.

No one will help me.

Do you think if your father
knocked on all these doors

the neighbors would
turn their backs on him?

He would've reaped
what he sowed,

just as you are now
reaping what you have sown.

Jake, you have
nowhere else to turn.

Nowhere except to God.

What do I do?

Tell me what to do.

Do what your father
would have done.

Do what the
children of Israel did.

Trust in God.

Do you remember what
your father always said to you,

the last words he uttered?

"You shall love
the Lord your God

"with all your heart,
with all your soul,

"and with all your might.

Teach these words
to your children..."

"Write them upon the
doorposts of your house.

"Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God

"with all thy heart
and all thy soul

"and all thy might.

"Teach these words
to your children.

Write them upon the
doorposts of your house."

You saved the
children of Israel.

Please, God, save my son.

He's coming for my son.

What do I do?

You put your son's life
in God's hands, Jake.

Now do the same with your own.

♪ Eliyahu Hanavi ♪

♪ Eliyahu Hatishbi ♪

♪ Eliyahu, Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu Hagiladi ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu, Hagiladi ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪

♪ Hagiladi. ♪

Jake, God has heard
your beautiful song,

and just as he spared

the children of Israel

so many thousands of
years ago on Passover,

he will spare your son.

Oh, I love you.

Oh, son, I'm sorry.

I love you so much.

I'm gonna change.

I don't know how,
but I'm gonna try.

So help me, God.

He will.

He has.

♪ When Israel
was in Egypt Land ♪

♪ Let my people go ♪

♪ Oppressed so hard
they could not stand ♪

♪ Let my people go ♪

♪ We need not always
weep and mourn ♪

♪ Let my people go ♪

Come on, baby.

Everything is
gonna be all right.

♪ And bear the chains
of slavery forlorn ♪

♪ Let my people go ♪

♪ Eliyahu, Eliyahu ♪
♪ Go down Moses ♪

♪ Way down in Egypt Land ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ Tell Old Pharaoh ♪

♪ Eliyahu... ♪
♪ To let my people go... ♪

Tyler?!

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ Go down Moses ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ Way down in Egypt's Land... ♪

Tyler?

♪ And tell Old Pharaoh ♪

♪ To let my people go ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ Go down Moses ♪

♪ Way down in Egypt's Land ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ And tell Old Pharaoh ♪

♪ Eliyahu ♪
♪ To let my people go ♪

♪ Go down Moses ♪

♪ Way down ♪

♪ In Egypt Land ♪

♪ And tell Old Pharaoh ♪

♪ To let my people go ♪

♪ Go down Moses ♪

♪ Way down in Egypt Land ♪

♪ And tell Old Pharaoh ♪

♪ To let my people go. ♪

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