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Trembling before God

The film follows the lives of several gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews and includes interviews with rabbis and psychotherapists about Orthodox attitudes towards homosexuality. During the film’s six-year production, director Sandi Simcha DuBowski met hundreds of homosexual Jews, but only a handful agreed to be filmed due to fear of being ostracized from their communities. Many people who agreed to be interviewed are shown only in silhouette or with their faces pixelated. The majority of the participants are American Jews, with one British and one Israeli Jew also featured.


It may seem trite for someone such as myself to automatically come to the conclusion that their sexuality is probably a greater defining factor in their lives than their spirituality; after all, one is born gay while religious traditions are usually inculcated into people throughout their lives. But it should be stressed that spirituality amongst the Hebrew faith has become such a part of their sense of identity that it has almost become as much a defining factor as their sexual orientation (which is determined at birth). It is upsetting to see gays Jews struggling to come to terms with the fact that their own social bonds may be damaged by no fault of their own.

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