A LIFE APART: HASIDISM IN AMERICA
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): *** 1/2
"These are the urban Puritans. ... They came not in search of the American dream, but came searching for a place where they could do what they have always done."
-Professor David Fishman
After the end of World War II, the Hasidic Jews left a war- ravaged Eastern Europe to come to the United States. The enlightening and involving documentary A LIFE APART: HASIDISM IN AMERICA by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky examines the Hasidics' life today as well as reviews their history.
In a predominately Jewish audience in Greenish Village, I was privileged to be able to see this incredible film. Given that most documentaries get at most a highly limited release, I will try to go into more detail than normal, both to encourage you to try to find the film and to tell you the gist of the story since you probably never will be able to see it. It should get an Academy Award nomination, but given the unreliability of the documentary branch of the Academy -- even HOOP DREAMS was ignored -- it will undoubtedly slip into obscurity without the honors it deserves.
With lush narration by Leonard Nimoy and Sarah Jessica Parker, the film tells the story of the Hasidic Jews mainly through watching them in their religious and secular lives. (Actually, the last is perhaps a misnomer since the Hasidics are mystics who believe they can find God in everything they do.) The film makes sparing use of the traditional talking heads and has some well chosen old film clips and still pictures to illustrate the history.
The Hasidic Jews are known by outsiders for the differences in the male dress -- the females wear traditional American clothes. The men wear black hats and suits and have scraggly beards and two long "side curls."
The film opens with a joyous Hasidic wedding followed by voice-overs of people on the street both praising and disparaging the Hasidics. The second half of the film comes back to some of this controversy but the rest of the first part is devoted to an almost completely sympathetic view of Hasidics.
The Hasidics have their own schools and lives, and a happier group of people you may never meet. With a strict order that has clear lines of demarcation between the sexes and between children and adults, they thrive within the boundaries rather than rebel against them. Still, their rules may seem anathema to most of us, while we envy their undeniable and infectious happiness.
If there is one word that symbolizes this close knit community it has to be love. As one of many examples, children are taught the sweetness of education through a tradition of placing a piece of candy on every letter when they first start to master the alphabet.
The group started in the 1700s as a spiritual revival movement in Eastern Europe. They say that they emphasize the positive benefits of doing the right thing rather than warning their members of the consequences of doing something wrong. Although their lives are highly regimented, they all seem to enjoy themselves and thrive. Storytelling is their method of teaching, and the movie relates several of these short stories. The life of each group centers around a revered religious leader called a rebbe. The members make no major decisions without asking for his advice.
These are persistent people. When they were banned after the Russian Revolution and their religious scrolls were chopped up and made into shoes, they stayed and ran underground schools so that their traditions and beliefs would live on in the Soviet Union.
All marriages are arranged by the parents. Sex is not discussed with the prospective bride and groom until the night before the wedding, and there is one designated person within the group to give this instruction. Apparently, they catch on fast since they brag of having a dozen or more children. One man in the film had 79 grandchildren.
After an almost idyllic first half, the second part of the film concentrates more on a dissenter from within their midst and on the view of them from the outside. Even the lone young woman who left the group to go to college still has good things to say about the traditions that she could no longer follow.
Typical of the scenes that will upset some of our sensibilities is the interview with Mrs. Gottesman, the head of the local Hasidic school for girls. She tells us that the purpose of the girls' education is "to prepare them to be Jewish mothers." Still, the film shows many working Hasidic women. One of my favorites is a female shopkeeper who talks about seeing television for the first time while in the hospital. "I watched TV while I was in the hospital, and I was amazed that women could watch it all day long and not become mentally ill," she concludes.
Men and women limit themselves to jobs that can be obtained without going to college, which is out of the question since the college would not be governed by the strict tenants of their faith. The filmmakers point out that this limits them generally to at best a middle-class lifestyle and not a very lavish one with a dozen mouths to feed.
Although happy, the Hasidics do not assimilate well. They want nothing to do with outsiders, not because they don't like them, but because they have their own community. The film points out that when they move into neighborhoods, other Jews flee, frequently leaving them the only whites in neighborhoods of color.
Even given the self-imposed limitations of their lifestyle, Hasidic Jews remain unabashedly exuberant. This documentary manages to be as happy and funny as the Hasidic Jews themselves. The result is a very convincing film makes you yearn for their simple and contented life.
A LIFE APART: HASIDISM IN AMERICA runs a fast 1:36. It is not rated but would be a G. The film would be fine for all ages, but I suspect one would need to be at least nine to appreciate it. I strongly recommend the film and give it *** 1/2. Maybe someday it will play in your city or perhaps one day you find a dusty tape at a video store with this film inside. Keep your eyes peeled.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: August 15, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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