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 David Fishman. (Part 1)
Terms you may encounter:
Khaider: Traditional Jewish elementary school
00:01:01 - Interview with David Fishman: About the USSR as an atheist state and how anti-religious laws were enacted when the Bolsheviks came to power. About anti-religious propaganda in Yiddish. Staged theatrical trials against the traditional Jewish religious school. About persecution of people who opposed this propaganda. Major riot against it in Vitebsk. Public show trials against rabbis.
00:07:08 - About the variety of Jewish identities that existed on the eve of the revolution. The revolution dramatically accelerated a process of secularization.
00:09:51 - About how circumcisions were illegal but how it was widespread to have illegal circumcisions. Even Party members arranged secret brisses for their sons.
00:11:41 - About efforts at resistance but the reaction was so brutal that Orthodox Jewish life couldn't withstand it. Some left, e.g., moved yeshivas to Poland. The only major Hasidic leader to stay was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who established underground network of synagogues, schools, yeshivas, largely through the efforts of a "youth" movement.
00:17:46 - About Lubavitch (Chabad) becoming the dominant force in Judaism in USSR. (Audio only) Interview continues. More about show trials of rabbis.
Interview with scholar David Fishman. (Part 1)
Terms you may encounter:
Khaider: Traditional Jewish elementary school
00:01:01 - Interview with David Fishman: About the USSR as an atheist state and how anti-religious laws were enacted when the Bolsheviks came to power. About anti-religious propaganda in Yiddish. Staged theatrical trials against the traditional Jewish religious school. About persecution of people who opposed this propaganda. Major riot against it in Vitebsk. Public show trials against rabbis.
00:07:08 - About the variety of Jewish identities that existed on the eve of the revolution. The revolution dramatically accelerated a process of secularization.
00:09:51 - About how circumcisions were illegal but how it was widespread to have illegal circumcisions. Even Party members arranged secret brisses for their sons.
00:11:41 - About efforts at resistance but the reaction was so brutal that Orthodox Jewish life couldn't withstand it. Some left, e.g., moved yeshivas to Poland. The only major Hasidic leader to stay was the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who established underground network of synagogues, schools, yeshivas, largely through the efforts of a "youth" movement.
00:17:46 - About Lubavitch (Chabad) becoming the dominant force in Judaism in USSR. (Audio only) Interview continues. More about show trials of rabbis.
Collection
Subject
Duration
00:19:53 (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.
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https://54098.surd9.group/show.php?pid=njcore:194958
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pid=njcore:194958
PID
njcore:194958
Metadata