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 Moshe Levertov, a Chabad (Lubavitcher) Hasid. 6/1/1994
00:00:01 - Interview with Moshe Levertov (in English): About how difficult it was for Hasidic families in the USSR, especially for those who lived outside the big cities. They would try to secretly gather in Moscow (at farbrengen) for holidays, even for Shabbos. Sings a Hasidic nigun (classical melody). A memory of Lwow in 1946 on the eve of their departure. About devotion to the Rebbe.
00:03:41 - Sings the nigun (about the Rebbe). About the underground yeshiva in Samarkand and how the Rebbe obtained visas for some of its students. He himself was in a later group of emigres and missed seeing the previous Rebbe.
00:06:28 - By the time he came the previous Rebbe had passed away. About learning of the Rebbe's death. An anecdote about the KGB telling a Hasid that the Rebbe had died. About his father's personal relationship with his father. Shows a letter from the Rebbe wishing for his father's release from prison and his mother's recovery from an illness.
00:10:23 - About his first impressions of America: freedom of religion. More about Samarkand and how it was freer there than in Moscow but still not in way that could compare with America, where one can be openly Jewish. About how sukkahs were permitted here.
00:14:09 - About how dramatic the growth of Hasidism, specifically Chabad, has been since 1950. How 770 Eastern Parkway has been expanded. About how shlikhim (emissaries) have created Hasidic communities all over.
00:16:02 - About how dangerous it was to get parcels from overseas in USSR. About how later Chabad sent emissaries and material support to Jews in Russia. After glasnost, emissaries were sent to stay there on a more permanent basis. Berel Lazar was one of them. The importance of spreading Jewish knowledge and support systems in Russia where the Soviets succeeded in eradicating Jewish knowledge and practice.
00:22:00 - (Fragments of interview, mostly audio only) How people did anything they could to remain Jewish, despite hardship and how inspiring the devotion of local Jews was to Jewish observance. Other hardships for religious Jews in Russia. More about providing material aid to Jews in Russia and Chabad emissaries in Russia and about Marina Roscha Synagogue and Berel Lazar.
Interview with Moshe Levertov, a Chabad (Lubavitcher) Hasid. 6/1/1994
00:00:01 - Interview with Moshe Levertov (in English): About how difficult it was for Hasidic families in the USSR, especially for those who lived outside the big cities. They would try to secretly gather in Moscow (at farbrengen) for holidays, even for Shabbos. Sings a Hasidic nigun (classical melody). A memory of Lwow in 1946 on the eve of their departure. About devotion to the Rebbe.
00:03:41 - Sings the nigun (about the Rebbe). About the underground yeshiva in Samarkand and how the Rebbe obtained visas for some of its students. He himself was in a later group of emigres and missed seeing the previous Rebbe.
00:06:28 - By the time he came the previous Rebbe had passed away. About learning of the Rebbe's death. An anecdote about the KGB telling a Hasid that the Rebbe had died. About his father's personal relationship with his father. Shows a letter from the Rebbe wishing for his father's release from prison and his mother's recovery from an illness.
00:10:23 - About his first impressions of America: freedom of religion. More about Samarkand and how it was freer there than in Moscow but still not in way that could compare with America, where one can be openly Jewish. About how sukkahs were permitted here.
00:14:09 - About how dramatic the growth of Hasidism, specifically Chabad, has been since 1950. How 770 Eastern Parkway has been expanded. About how shlikhim (emissaries) have created Hasidic communities all over.
00:16:02 - About how dangerous it was to get parcels from overseas in USSR. About how later Chabad sent emissaries and material support to Jews in Russia. After glasnost, emissaries were sent to stay there on a more permanent basis. Berel Lazar was one of them. The importance of spreading Jewish knowledge and support systems in Russia where the Soviets succeeded in eradicating Jewish knowledge and practice.
00:22:00 - (Fragments of interview, mostly audio only) How people did anything they could to remain Jewish, despite hardship and how inspiring the devotion of local Jews was to Jewish observance. Other hardships for religious Jews in Russia. More about providing material aid to Jews in Russia and Chabad emissaries in Russia and about Marina Roscha Synagogue and Berel Lazar.
Collection
Subject
Duration
00:28:56 (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:194865
Basic LTI parameter
pid=njcore:194865
PID
njcore:194865
Metadata