The culminating event of the Celebration of Sholem Aleichem at Beth Jacob Synagogue, the presentation of the documentary “Laughing in the Darkness” will be followed by a discussion with Rick Winston, renowned film lecturer and co-founder of the Savoy Theater.
Beth Jacob Synagogue, 10 Harrison St, Montpelier. Dessert and coffee/ BJ Members - free; Non-members - $5 at the door
“Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness” is much more than a documentary biography of “the Jewish Mark Twain,” as the creator of Tevye the Dairyman, Menachem-Mendl and other beloved folkloric characters has been called. It is a rich, beautifully organized and illustrated modern history of Eastern European Jewry examined through the life and work of the author. The film, directed by Joseph Dorman, explores the history and dissolution of Eastern European Jewish culture and the conflicting desires of later generations to remember and to forget. It is a riveting portrait of the great writer whose stories became the basis of the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof. and tells the tale of the rebellious genius who created an entirely new literature. Plumbing the depths of a Jewish world locked in crisis and on the cusp of profound change, Sholem Aleichem captured that world with brilliant humor. He was not just a witness to the creation of a new modern Jewish identity, but one of the very men who forged it.

Oct 19, 2024, 9 to 10 AM

Oct 23, 2024, 5 to 8 PM

Oct 24, 2024, 9 to 10:30 AM