Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage is forbidden.
The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds is a play by S. Ansky, authored between 1913 and 1916. It was originally written in Russian and later translated into Yiddish by Ansky himself. The Dybbuk had its world premiere in that language, performed by the Vilna Troupe at Warsaw in 1920. A Hebrew version was prepared by Hayim Nahman Bialik and staged in Moscow at Habima Theater in 1922.
Yibbum is the form of levirate marriage found in Judaism. As specified by Deuteronomy 25:5–10, the brother of a man who died without children is permitted and encouraged to marry the widow. However, if either of the parties refuses to go through with the marriage, both are required to go through a ceremony known as halizah, involving a symbolic act of renunciation of their right to perform this marriage.
Shlomo Carlebach, known as Reb Shlomo to his followers, was a rabbi, religious teacher, spiritual leader, composer, and singer dubbed "the singing rabbi" during his lifetime.
A Stranger Among Us is a 1992 American crime drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Melanie Griffith. It tells the story of an undercover police officer's experiences in a Hasidic community. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. It is often cited as one of Lumet's two failures of the 1990s, the other being Guilty as Sin (1993). Despite the poor reviews suffered by both these films, Lumet received the 1993 D. W. Griffith Award of the Directors Guild of America. The film was also the first credited role for actor James Gandolfini. The shooting of the film was used as an example in Lumet's book Making Movies.
An agunah is a Jewish woman who is stuck in her religious marriage as determined by halakha. The classic case of this is a man who has left on a journey and has not returned, or has gone into battle and is missing in action. It is used as a borrowed term to refer to a woman whose husband refuses, or is unable, to grant her a divorce.
Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740–1809), also known as the holy Berdichever, and the Kedushas Levi, was a Hasidic master and Jewish leader. He was the rabbi of Ryczywół, Żelechów, Pinsk and Berdychiv, for which he is best known. He was one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, and of his disciple Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg, whom he succeeded as rabbi of Ryczywół. He is also the great-grandfather of Israeli artist Isaac Frenkel Frenel.
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) is one of the most sought-after profilers in the world. His expert testimony resulted in the conviction of serial killer Jon Forster (McDonough). However, on the eve of Forster's execution, one of Gramm's students is murdered in a vicious copycat crime, and Gramm himself receives an ominous message informing him that he has 88 minutes to live. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005, and wrapped up in December 2005. In 2007 the film was released in various European countries.
Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn, also called Israel Ruzhin, was a Hasidic rebbe in 19th-century Ukraine and Austria. Known as Der Heiliger Ruzhiner, he conducted his court with regal pomp and splendor. Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, who was said to be jealous of the Rebbe's wealth and influence, had the Rebbe imprisoned for nearly two years on an unsubstantiated murder charge. After his release, the Rebbe fled to Austria, where he re-established his court in Sadigura, Bukovina, attracted thousands of Hasidim, provided for the Hasidic community in Israel, and inaugurated the construction of the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem.
Trembling Before G-d is a 2001 American documentary film about gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews trying to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. It was directed by Sandi Simcha DuBowski, an American who wanted to compare Orthodox Jewish attitudes to homosexuality with his own upbringing as a gay Conservative Jew.
Chaim Elazar Spira was a rebbe of the Hasidic Munkacs dynasty.
The Stanislav hasidic dynasty was established in western Ukraine in a town now known as Ivano-Frankivsk. The town used to be called Stanisławów, and is still known in Yiddish as Stanislav.
Rachel was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aunt Rebecca was Jacob's mother.
Dovid Bornsztain, also spelled Borenstein, Bornstein and Bernstein, known as the Chasdei Dovid, was the third Rebbe of the Sochatchov Hasidic dynasty. He succeeded his father, Rabbi Shmuel Bornsztain, as Rebbe upon the latter's death in 1926.
Sarah Rebecca Rachel Leah Horowitz (1715–1795), known as Leah Horowitz, was a rabbinic and kabbalistic scholar, who wrote in Yiddish. She was the author of Tkhinne imohes. She lived in Bolechów, Poland.
Dosa ben Harkinas was of the first generation of the Jewish Tanna sages, proceeding from the era of the Zugot. Contemporary to Yochanan ben Zakai, he was active during the era of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, and lived to a ripe old age, even after the destruction of the Second Temple. He died approximately 60 years after the destruction of the temple.
Michel Twerski is an American Hasidic rabbi and composer of Jewish music. He currently heads the Beth Jehudah congregation in Milwaukee. He is the brother of the psychiatrist Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski. Rabbi Twerski is a descendant of the Chernobyler Hasidic dynasty. He is also known as the Hornosteipler Rebbe of Milwaukee.
Israel ben Eliezer or Yisroel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov or as the BeShT, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which means "Master of the Good Name," a term for a holy man who wields the secret name of God.
"The Dybbuk" is a 1960 television production of the Russian play The Dybbuk by Sholom Ansky, which was authored between 1913 and 1916 and is considered a Yiddish classic, with Cambridge University Press calling it "probably the most performed of any Yiddish play". It was directed by Sidney Lumet for The Play of the Week from an adaptation into English by Joseph Liss. The program, starring Carol Lawrence aired on October 3, 1960.
