This is an alert ×
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 scholar Yaffa Eliach. (Part 4) 2/16/1995

00:00:57 - Interview with Yaffa Eliach: About whether Hasidism will survive in America. Economic outlook: new technologies, substandard education, new generations receive less secular education than previous generations. About women within Hasidism who face a lack of economic opportunity.

00:04:46 - About how the home is no longer a base of power for women, unlike the way it was traditionally in Jewish history. About large Jewish families leading to poverty.

00:06:41 - About career counseling Hasidic women students at Brooklyn College who are increasingly driven to earn a living for their families.

00:08:23 - About Hasidic pride in maintaining their distinctiveness. About the underground network of Chabad (Lubavitcher) Hasidism in the USSR in the face of persecution. About Chabad as different from other Hasidic groups in wanting to be very visible.

00:12:03 - About self-help in the Hasidic community and even generosity toward outsiders. About beginnings of the Hatzolah ambulance corps in Williamsburg.

00:14:10 - About gender segregation in self-help activities providing a role for women. About the rebbetsin, the wife of the Satmar Rebbe, as a role model.

00:15:45 - About Hasidism in the American tradition of religious sects, according to a model established in colonial times. Hasidim as a voting bloc. Examples of how Hasidim are participants in American life.

00:19:30 - About how Hasidic Holocaust survivors deeply appreciate American freedom but the younger generations take it for granted. About how each Hasidic group thinks its rebbe is the truest heir of the Ba'al Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the founder of Hasidism, also known as “Besht”). About mainstream Jewish attitudes toward Hasidim.

00:23:22 - Audio Only. Continuation of interview. About how Chabad takes advantage of modern media. About how Polish Hasidim were more open to the outside world than Satmar Hasidim. About how more Hungarian Hasidim survived the Holocaust than Polish Hasidim. About how the Satmar Rebbe set the tone for American Hasidim.
Collection
Duration
00:28:12 (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:194953
Basic LTI parameter
pid=njcore:194953
PID
njcore:194953