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Abstract
Footage from the 1997 documentary “A Life Apart: Hasidism in America” (directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky), the first in-depth documentary about Hasidic Jews, members of a distinctive group within Judaism that has roots in pre-World War II Eastern Europe.

Interview with Mayer Schiller, a Skverer Hasid, who grew up as a secular Jew but chose to become Hasidic. (Part 1) 1/13/1994.

Terms you might encounter in this footage:
Ba’al Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the founder of Hasidism, also known as “Besht.”)
Yeshivish/Litvish: Non-Hasidic ultra-Orthodox Jew.


00:00:10 - Interview with Mayer Schiller: About how he grew up in a non-Hasidic, non-religious American Jewish family. Was always interested in Judaism. Visited Hasidim in New Square as an experiment. Left public school and attended yeshiva.

00:07:18 - About growing up in Brooklyn in a liberal/left secular Jewish family and being interested in sports.

00:10:56 - About entering Yeshiva Samson Raphael Hirsch, a German Orthodox Jewish yeshiva. Then, Bais Shraga, a non-Hasidic Lithuanian "yeshivish" yeshiva. Finally accepted into New Square (Skverer Hasidic) yeshiva in 1968.

00:13:26 - About adapting to Hasidic rhythms of life and codes of behavior, long hours of study and prayer. Mother accepting of his becoming a Hasid.

00:15:45 - About assuming Hasidic garb as a powerful religious experience. The passion of the convert. Hasidism an example of traditional world: emphasis on the communal. Secular world: modern and emphasis on the individual.

00:18:23 - About how most Americans are brainwashed against traditionalist values and religion.. American culture, focused on the material as opposed to the intrinsic, is not sustainable.
Collection
Duration
00:22:05 (HH:MM:SS)
Language:
English
Copyright Date
1997
Rights Declaration:
This recording is protected by copyright. You are free to view it but not download it. Please contact the Brooklyn College Archives for further information about how you may use this recording.
Persistent/Share URL
https://54098.surd9.group/show.php?pid=njcore:194807
Basic LTI parameter
pid=njcore:194807
PID
njcore:194807