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 Zalman Schachter Shlomi. (Part 1) 1/16/1995.
00:00:36 - Interview with Zalman Schachter Shlomi: Attempts a definition of Hasidism. About the founder of Hasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov, in the context of religious revival and reform going on around the world in his lifetime. About the intimacy between master teacher/Rebbe and Hasidim/devotees. About their religious fervor.
00:04:42 - About childhood in Austria and meeting Yosef Yitzchak Shneersohn, the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, while a refugee in France, and becoming his devotee.
00:04:42 - About people are looking for a spiritual connection now and about how Hasidism provides an entry for this. Anecdote about seeing a tree glowing after prayer.
00:07:44 - About the opposition to the mysticism of Hasidism on the part of rationalists now and in the past. About how some are focused on restoring and others, like him, on renewal and looking forward to the next century.
00:10:23 - New scientific discoveries are corroborating the teachings of the Kabbalah.
00:11:31 - About Hasidism providing renewal in the aftermath of the Chmielnicki Uprising and the Holocaust. About Hasidism, including Hasidic garb, providing a sense of continuity, community, ecstasy in prayer, dance. The downside is insularity and no involvement in ecology, racial justice, feminism. But there are still points of connection. Example: vegetarianism, Hasidic rock.
00:14:57 - About Hasidic garb as inimical to the world at large. "And it's really true. The two of them don't get along so well."
00:16:16 - About the Lubavitcher Rebbe and his father-in-law, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe as his mentors and having a larger vision than other Hasidim. About how other Hasidic groups didn't like Chabad's proselytization.
00:17:57 - About Hasidic tales, nigunim (traditional melodies), and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. A story about the Ba'al Shem Tov and Yom Kippur and shepherd's flute. A story about Reb Zushe reminiscent of St. Francis of Assisi.
00:20:55 - About theology vs. immediate experience. About experiencing the oneness of God through the mediation of a Rebbe.
Interview with Zalman Schachter Shlomi. (Part 1) 1/16/1995.
00:00:36 - Interview with Zalman Schachter Shlomi: Attempts a definition of Hasidism. About the founder of Hasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov, in the context of religious revival and reform going on around the world in his lifetime. About the intimacy between master teacher/Rebbe and Hasidim/devotees. About their religious fervor.
00:04:42 - About childhood in Austria and meeting Yosef Yitzchak Shneersohn, the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, while a refugee in France, and becoming his devotee.
00:04:42 - About people are looking for a spiritual connection now and about how Hasidism provides an entry for this. Anecdote about seeing a tree glowing after prayer.
00:07:44 - About the opposition to the mysticism of Hasidism on the part of rationalists now and in the past. About how some are focused on restoring and others, like him, on renewal and looking forward to the next century.
00:10:23 - New scientific discoveries are corroborating the teachings of the Kabbalah.
00:11:31 - About Hasidism providing renewal in the aftermath of the Chmielnicki Uprising and the Holocaust. About Hasidism, including Hasidic garb, providing a sense of continuity, community, ecstasy in prayer, dance. The downside is insularity and no involvement in ecology, racial justice, feminism. But there are still points of connection. Example: vegetarianism, Hasidic rock.
00:14:57 - About Hasidic garb as inimical to the world at large. "And it's really true. The two of them don't get along so well."
00:16:16 - About the Lubavitcher Rebbe and his father-in-law, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe as his mentors and having a larger vision than other Hasidim. About how other Hasidic groups didn't like Chabad's proselytization.
00:17:57 - About Hasidic tales, nigunim (traditional melodies), and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. A story about the Ba'al Shem Tov and Yom Kippur and shepherd's flute. A story about Reb Zushe reminiscent of St. Francis of Assisi.
00:20:55 - About theology vs. immediate experience. About experiencing the oneness of God through the mediation of a Rebbe.
Collection
Subject
Duration
00:23:23 (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:194962
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PID
njcore:194962
Metadata