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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.

Ger school for girls: Interview with principal. (Part 5)

00:00:08 - About why the girls in the school must all wear uniforms.

00:01:38 - About how the girls learn about commandments and roles specific to women (lighting candles, making challah) by watching their mothers perform them. About the bas mitzvah ceremony that marks the beginning of adulthood. Contrast between teenagers in the secular world and Hasidic girls and expectations for them.

00:05:37 - About how much of a problem it is for women to choose to juggle home and career. But some Orthodox (not Hasidic) women have become doctors. But Orthodox women don't put their careers above being a mother. Having large families is a response to the Holocaust.

00:08:43 - About how the girls are encouraged to do good deeds, even outside the classroom. This is modeled by the dedication of the Hasidic community as a whole to help people, individually and through organized voluntary charity.

00:11:15 - About the rewards of being an educator.

00:12:44 - About what a pleasure it is to see former students get married and have children. In both girls' and boys' education there is a lot of singing and chanting. But women are not supposed to sing in the hearing of men and that's why the teachers didn't lead the singing during the filming in the classroom.

00:15:11 - (No audio) Classroom decorations: illustrating moral lessons imparted by different Torah portions; graphic illustrating the differences between Jews "and other nations"; student of the month; portraits of rabbis; U.S. presidents; and other decorations.

00:21:54 - Exterior of the school.

00:22:24 - (Audio only) More of interview with the principal: about charity, wall decorations that contrast Orthodox life with the lives of non-Orthodox people, who live a life of violence and degradation. Illustrations children have made related to illustrious rabbis.
Duration
00:27:10 (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:194926
Basic LTI parameter
pid=njcore:194926
PID
njcore:194926