"I don't want to be less Jewish because I'm gay" says David in the beginning, one of the main subjects of the "Trembling Before G-d" documentary. Members of the LGBTQ+ have a history of strong antagonism with traditional religious communities, antagonism which often includes discrimination and oppression. While that is one of the main reasons some homosexual individuals lose their faith in religion, others, like David, seek ways of continuing to practice and uphold religious beliefs. Distressing and detached experiences of the latter are what the director of the documentary set out to illustrate to their audience through putting these individuals as protagonists and main subjects of the story. Another aim that the film seeks to achieve is a considerable room for interpretation that religious philosophies, such as that of Judaism, have on topics like LGBTQ+.
The 2001 documentary was directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski and narrates a story about gay Orthodox Jews, who share their experience and thoughts about the dilemma between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs. How these people handle negative reactions from their family members is a significant part of the story. Throughout the film, psychiatrists and Jewish rabbis also share their opinions and personal experiences with homosexual Jews.
One of the main messages that the makers of the documentary are aiming to convey to their outsider viewers is the excruciating pressure and feeling of isolation that Jewish homosexual individuals face within their religious communities, which they still wish to be a part of. A technique through which the director chose to achieve this goal was selecting these individuals as protagonists, as they are the ones who directly face these issues. Most of the subjects of the documentary, who came out to their families about their sexuality, have strained relationships with them, meaning that even the closest people in their religious circle pushed them away. The film consists of many monologues, dialogues and letters filled with emotions, such as sorrow, anger, and vulnerability, that are very personal to the subjects that narrate the film. Such depictions pull emotion and compassion from the audience, and make the viewers understand and sympathize with the protagonist(s). For example, there is Malka, whose parents are not happy to accept that she is a lesbian and has married another woman. Then, there is Israel, a 58 years old man, who did not talk to his brother since 1971 and whose father still did not accept him for who he is. The viewers are being provided with scenes such as when Malka is hurt after each phone call from her parents or Israel's very passionate speech about his faith, which was still with him, even after what his family and society did to him. Thus, through the director's choice of protagonists, inside which lives and experience the film gives a view of, the film achieves its primary purpose - to illustrate the sad realities of detachment from religious community present in an ordinary Jewish homosexual's life who still want to follow the footsteps of their religion.
Moreover, the documentary shows us that there are multiple ways people can interpret religion, such as Judaism, and that some divisions in religious communities welcome all kinds of people, including members of LGBTQ+. This message is delivered by demonstrating the variety of opinions given by rabbis, Jewish religious teachers, on how they treat their adherents that are homosexuals; to the audience that shows exactly how people of the same religion of Judaism and even of the same religious title can interpret religious doctrines differently. For instance, on the one hand, the movie begins with a quote from the Tanakh, which in general states that homosexual people "shall be put to death" or be "administered lashes for transgression." Some rabbis from the film say that having a homosexual relationship is prohibited, and gay people should try conversion therapy or live their lives in celibacy.
On the other hand, filmmakers also included more inclusive statements related to religious treatment of homosexuality. One of those was made by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin saying, "When you don't know you tend to demonize and almost dehumanize, but when you met the individual, you see sincerity of his prayers, you can no longer demonize and dehumanize. You have to just love and help." In the same way, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo argues that it is impossible for Torah to ask a person to do something he/she is not able to do, and living a celibate life is impossible due to a force of a human sexuality. Though not a rabbi, David, a gay Orthodox Jew, comments on the Jewish Law and claims that drugging people and exposing them to electric shocks to purge their homosexuality is "anti-Halacha" or against the Jewish Law. The filmmakers included in the documentary the first openly gay Orthodox Rabbi - Rabbi Steve Greenberg, which is an example of a life that has both religious and sexual acceptance of itself. He states that human beings can influence even God, because "God, Blessed Be He, wishes to learn from his conversations with human beings. "It's not Judaism, if it's not responsive to the human condition". I think this was one of the most vital details that the filmmakers included to convey their message about the room for interpretation in Judaism on issues of homosexuality.
To sum up, "Trembling before G-d" is a successful attempt at describing closely to the audience the high extent of rejection that many Jewish representatives of LGBTQ+ face in their own religious and familial communities, experiences that often come with a sense of unhappiness and isolation. Which group would be the film's main protagonist (religious and homosexual Jewish individuals) was an important decision in achieving this goal, as showing the most intimate and private sides of these individuals' lives helped the documentary to bring out the affection and emotion from the audience and raise the audience's understanding of the issues these people go through. More importantly, the documentary teaches an outsider viewer about how traditionally viewed strict religious communities actually have sacred teachings and texts that are open to interpretation through showing various and sometimes opposing views on topics such as homosexuality coming from members of different Jewish religious communities.
The 2001 documentary was directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski and narrates a story about gay Orthodox Jews, who share their experience and thoughts about the dilemma between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs. How these people handle negative reactions from their family members is a significant part of the story. Throughout the film, psychiatrists and Jewish rabbis also share their opinions and personal experiences with homosexual Jews.
One of the main messages that the makers of the documentary are aiming to convey to their outsider viewers is the excruciating pressure and feeling of isolation that Jewish homosexual individuals face within their religious communities, which they still wish to be a part of. A technique through which the director chose to achieve this goal was selecting these individuals as protagonists, as they are the ones who directly face these issues. Most of the subjects of the documentary, who came out to their families about their sexuality, have strained relationships with them, meaning that even the closest people in their religious circle pushed them away. The film consists of many monologues, dialogues and letters filled with emotions, such as sorrow, anger, and vulnerability, that are very personal to the subjects that narrate the film. Such depictions pull emotion and compassion from the audience, and make the viewers understand and sympathize with the protagonist(s). For example, there is Malka, whose parents are not happy to accept that she is a lesbian and has married another woman. Then, there is Israel, a 58 years old man, who did not talk to his brother since 1971 and whose father still did not accept him for who he is. The viewers are being provided with scenes such as when Malka is hurt after each phone call from her parents or Israel's very passionate speech about his faith, which was still with him, even after what his family and society did to him. Thus, through the director's choice of protagonists, inside which lives and experience the film gives a view of, the film achieves its primary purpose - to illustrate the sad realities of detachment from religious community present in an ordinary Jewish homosexual's life who still want to follow the footsteps of their religion.
Moreover, the documentary shows us that there are multiple ways people can interpret religion, such as Judaism, and that some divisions in religious communities welcome all kinds of people, including members of LGBTQ+. This message is delivered by demonstrating the variety of opinions given by rabbis, Jewish religious teachers, on how they treat their adherents that are homosexuals; to the audience that shows exactly how people of the same religion of Judaism and even of the same religious title can interpret religious doctrines differently. For instance, on the one hand, the movie begins with a quote from the Tanakh, which in general states that homosexual people "shall be put to death" or be "administered lashes for transgression." Some rabbis from the film say that having a homosexual relationship is prohibited, and gay people should try conversion therapy or live their lives in celibacy.
On the other hand, filmmakers also included more inclusive statements related to religious treatment of homosexuality. One of those was made by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin saying, "When you don't know you tend to demonize and almost dehumanize, but when you met the individual, you see sincerity of his prayers, you can no longer demonize and dehumanize. You have to just love and help." In the same way, Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo argues that it is impossible for Torah to ask a person to do something he/she is not able to do, and living a celibate life is impossible due to a force of a human sexuality. Though not a rabbi, David, a gay Orthodox Jew, comments on the Jewish Law and claims that drugging people and exposing them to electric shocks to purge their homosexuality is "anti-Halacha" or against the Jewish Law. The filmmakers included in the documentary the first openly gay Orthodox Rabbi - Rabbi Steve Greenberg, which is an example of a life that has both religious and sexual acceptance of itself. He states that human beings can influence even God, because "God, Blessed Be He, wishes to learn from his conversations with human beings. "It's not Judaism, if it's not responsive to the human condition". I think this was one of the most vital details that the filmmakers included to convey their message about the room for interpretation in Judaism on issues of homosexuality.
To sum up, "Trembling before G-d" is a successful attempt at describing closely to the audience the high extent of rejection that many Jewish representatives of LGBTQ+ face in their own religious and familial communities, experiences that often come with a sense of unhappiness and isolation. Which group would be the film's main protagonist (religious and homosexual Jewish individuals) was an important decision in achieving this goal, as showing the most intimate and private sides of these individuals' lives helped the documentary to bring out the affection and emotion from the audience and raise the audience's understanding of the issues these people go through. More importantly, the documentary teaches an outsider viewer about how traditionally viewed strict religious communities actually have sacred teachings and texts that are open to interpretation through showing various and sometimes opposing views on topics such as homosexuality coming from members of different Jewish religious communities.