Praying with Lior

Raised by rabbis, Lior Liebling has been singing and praying in Hebrew from an early age: home movies from 1994 and 1998 find the young man, who has Down syndrome, “davening” with enthusiasm. Although his mother, Devora Bartnoff, looked forward to attending Lior's Bar Mitzvah, she died of cancer in 1997 (an article she wrote about her son inspired the title of this documentary). Director Ilana Trachtman, who met Lior at a Philadelphia synagogue, filmed the 12-year-old as he prepared for his journey into manhood in 2004, aided by his father, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, and other relatives, who helped him memorize requisite passages from the Torah (Liebling describes his son as “retarded, but not stupid”). Trachtman also speaks with Lior's classmates at his private orthodox school, his stepmother Lynne Iser, 19-year-old sister Reena, 16-year-old brother Loni, and younger sister Anna, who sometimes finds her brother “annoying” and “embarrassing” (she's jealous of the attention he receives). Loni feels that “if there is a God, then Lior is closer to God than anybody else I know,” a sentiment with which Rabbi Liebling agrees. Interspersed throughout are scenes of the stubborn, affectionate, high-functioning Lior roughhousing with his brother, playing video games, and participating in Little League—in other words, living the life of any 12-year-old American boy. Whether Lior is merely an excellent mimic or a truly spiritual being remains an open question, but there's no doubt that Trachtman treats him, his family, and his culture with respect. DVD extras include deleted scenes, and a 2008 update on Lior and his siblings. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)