Andrew Bender reviews Trembling Before G-d
It's sobering, really sobering, to think of what life must
be like for lesbian and gay Jews who are also very observant. They know
Torah, mishnah and halachah inside out, and they revel in Shabbat,
the holidays, study, family, and the very notion of tradition. For them,
life without Judaism might as well not be life at all.
Here's the conflict, though: ultra-Orthodox Judaism interprets the Law to condemn homosexuality, while their bodies tell them it's the most natural thing in the world. Segments of the Hassidic and Orthodox communities consider homosexuality a sickness at best, and at worst, a sin worthy of banishment from family and community.
Sandi Simcha DuBowski's remarkable documentary Trembling before G-d examines the issue from across the spectrum of viewpoints. For some six years DuBowski interviewed Hassidic and Orthodox gay men and lesbians, rabbis, scholars, and counselors, in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Brooklyn, London, and Jerusalem. He visited gay pride celebrations, gay and lesbian succahs, and religious services in which men wipe their arms and foreheads with ice cubes to atone for sexual immorality.
Some of the stories are hopeful, some horrifying, some ironic, others wrenching. Consider the following:
David, a thirty-something Los Angeles resident, went to his rabbi when
he realized he might be gay and was advised to eat figs and recite tehillim
(psalms) to rid him of his homosexuality. When that didn't work, the
rabbi suggested that David wear a rubber band around his wrist and snap
it whenever he felt a gay urge. David quips that his wrist was constantly
sore, but if he seems to be making light of the situation, the result
is quite different when he confronts the rabbi some 20 years later.
"Malka" and "Leah,"
a lesbian couple in Miami, braid beautiful challahs for Shabbat and
make Havdalah together with much affection. They're so secure
with themselves that they're able to counsel a young lesbian friend
not to give up on herself, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is there for
her 24-7.
But after "Leah" declares her sexuality to her family, her parents' weekly Friday evening phone call trickles down to a tepid "Shabbat Shalom," and what's supposed to be the week's sweetest moment becomes a time of regular breakdowns.
Mark, the English son of a rabbi, always knew he was gay and was kicked out of yeshivas because of it. When he came out to his parents in his mid-teens, they sent him to Israel in the hopes of curing him. "Big mistake," Mark says--a few moments later we see him onstage in drag at a gay pride festival. Later, we see him studying in a yeshiva in B'nei Brak.
And then there are the lesbian and gay Jews who manage to live full lives while still in the closet. DuBowski filmed "Dvorah," an Israeli woman, from behind a scrim to protect her identity. Dvorah's a pillar of her community, has a loving husband, children and grandchildren…and she sneaks out to perform outreach to Haredim at the Gay Pride march in Tel Aviv.
Trembling Before G-d, a U.S./Israeli joint production, was shot in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish, and DuBowski has thoughtfully included subtitles where non-English words are used. Although it's DuBowski's first film, his writing has appeared in publications as diverse as Vogue, the New York Times, Out, and the Jerusalem Post.
The film had its Jerusalem premiere in early July, and by all accounts there were plenty of black-hatted audience members. It has also been seen at the Sundance Film Festival, Outfest (the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) and the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award for best documentary.
In this age of Will & Grace, when it's hard to turn on the television and not see a gay character, it's startling to see that the faces of several of the film's subjects, like Dvorah's, are obscured during filming. That's what hit it home for me that there are many communities where being gay is still just not accepted.
DuBowski is optimistic that his film will break new ground, though the stakes are great. On one side is the full weight of the Bible. On the other, to paraphrase Naomi Mark, a psychologist in Brooklyn's Orthodox community who appeared in the film, if the Orthodox movement doesn't learn to be more accepting of its gay members, it will lose them to other Jewish denominations--or to suicide.
--------------
Trembling Before G-d, directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski. Running time: 94 minutes. Check local listings for screenings (it will be at many film festivals) or visit www.tremblingbeforeg-d.com.
Los
Angeles-based Andrew Bender reviews films for various JFL Web sites and
writes about culture, travel, and food for publications including the
Los Angeles Times, Travel & Leisure, and Fortune. This former
production company executive and sometime screenwriter also reviews restaurants
(and we're keeping his identity secret by not posting his photo).
|
|
|
