American Lives, Jewish Stories

Although forced to overcome all kinds of adversity in the 19th and 20th centuries, the immigrant Jewish population eventually achieved prosperity in America, often gaining acceptance through assimilation and intermarriage. However, many American Jews now worry that the process cost them a bit of soul, their sense of community, and perhaps even Jewish identity itself. Some ask today: Why be Jewish? What does it mean to be a Jew? How can Jews impart their distinctive and ancient heritage to their children? Michelle Brafman-Helf's documentary American Lives, Jewish Stories examines these questions through the prism of three stories. The first segment takes the viewer to a Jewish summer camp in Wisconsin, where Jewish students and counselors come together for a too-brief period to share beliefs, rituals, and joyful traditions. In the second story, we meet FayeRuth, a 23 year old Jew living in Boston, who feels the strong pull of her faith, yet is engaged to Catholic--an impending marriage that distresses her mother, leaving FayeRuth in the unenviable position of having to reconcile her love for her fiancé, her parents, and her Jewish heritage. The final piece introduces Rachel, a "nature girl" who in her teens rejected Judaism but--now married, with young children--wishes to "come home" to her faith, symbolized by the building of a sukkah, (a temporary hut-like structure attached to the home that shelters the family as they celebrate the harvest season and the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land). The stories are left open-ended, providing discussion groups with plenty of material for a lively exchange of ideas, and the program is supplemented with a detailed study guide. An engaging look at issues surrounding Jewish identity in contemporary America, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)