Narrated by Martha Teichner, the film follows the trajectory of Jewish American life from the earliest arrivals in the mid-17th century through the impact of the Nazi regime in World War II, the creation of Israel, and the new challenges of 21st century assimilation. Explore the personal stories many faced as they migrated to America, whether for economic opportunity or to escape persecution. 2015 55min.
By the turn of the 20th century, as Americans of other faiths began exploring the limits of their religious traditions, many Jews begin experimenting with innovative spiritual practices as well, bringing Buddhist meditation into their own religious practice while Orthodox Judaism was thriving as it never had before. The youngest generation of Jewish Americans developed their own "hip" Jewish culture, which included a special connection to Jewish music gone mainstream. Matisyahu - a Hasidic Jew with songs blending hip hop, reggae and esoteric Jewish musing - rose to the top of the charts. Today, Jewish Americans continue to weave themselves into the social, cultural, economic and political life of the country. There are a bewildering number of ways of being Jewish, but the age-old issue of negotiating Jewish and American identities remains. 1hr:57min.
This film tells the story of the Jewish pilgrims who founded Congregation Shearith Israel—a “Remnant of Israel”—in 1654 in the Dutch trading post of New Amsterdam, modern day New York City. Shearith Israel’s sister congregation, Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI, was built in 1763 and is the oldest continual Jewish house of worship in the U.S. Woven through this tale are Haym Solomon, who helped finance the American Revolution; Uriah Levy, the Naval Commodore who saved Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello from ruin; and Emma Lazarus, whose poetry captured the dreams of millions of immigrants to America. Viewers will also learn about the history of Sephardic Jews who fled to the New World to escape the Spanish Inquisition, and how the independent synagogue worship system developed in ancient Babylon.