Reb Elimelech & the Chassidic Legacy of Brotherhood

The career and legacy of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1787), a founder of Hasidism, are celebrated in this film by author and lecturer Hanoch Teller, who here relates many inspirational tales about his subject. Although there are some dramatic re-creations of Elimelech’s life, as well as a sketch of the harsh circumstances that Jews were forced to endure in 18th-century Poland and Ukraine, these are distinctly secondary to the traditional parables that are told by Teller and other rabbis, which repeatedly point up the core of Elimelech’s teaching—the obligation to love other Jews and show willingness to help them in times of need. That message is reflected, the film illustrates, in the networks of social aid that exist within today’s Hasidic communities. Teller also emphasizes the connection with the divine that is expressed in mundane activities from the moment one rises—an idea linked with devotion to prayer, study, and ritual (examples of which are included here). Also featuring performances of Hasidic instrumental and vocal music, this choppy, homespun documentary is not so much an introduction to Hasidism for outsiders as it is a means of exhorting members of Hasidic communities to remember the foundations of their beliefs and practices. But while it may appeal primarily to Hasidim, others will still find that it offers a rewarding inside glimpse into orthodox Jewish life. Extras include a "making-of" featurette. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)