This feature-length documentary is the first ever film to explore the phenomenon of religious conversion. The film takes an in-depth look at one of modern man’s more dramatic and difficult spiritual journeys: a journey that moves the voyager to forsake the religion of parents, abandon the traditions of childhood and enter into a wholly new, often radically different system of belief and practice of worship. In "Leap of Faith" we follow four families through their attempt at religious conversion – to becoming Orthodox Jews. It is a decision that some will find courageous, others utterly absurd. We will witness a host of crises and triumphs and often surprising consequences. Searching for truth and meaning in their lives, this group of unlikely Americans take a leap of faith and undergo conversion from Christianity to Orthodox Judaism. Emotional and spiritual strength is needed in order to make such a drastic step in one's life.
Festivals
- Anshei Sphard Beth El Emeth Congregation, USA, 2011
- Bucharest Jewish Film Festival, Romania, 2011
- Detroit Jewish Film Festival, USA 2011
- Sid Jacobson Jewish Film Festival, USA 2011
Additional info
Gallery
Leap of Faith is quite remarkable in its sincere and thoughtful look at a sensitive subject. Recommended. For the entire review by P. Hall/Video Librarian, check: http://www.video librarian.com/othervideo.html#Anchor-30228
Converting to Judaism often requires tremendous sacrifice. Relatives may feel rejected, friends can misunderstand, one's children's education is no longer free, and myriads of new laws and customs suddenly make their demands. Yet, despite the many hardships, a handful of non-Jews throughout the ages have persisted and joined the Jewish people.
A new documentary, "Leap of Faith," explores this journey by following the lives of several non-Jews interested in conversion.
For the entire review by Elliot Rsenick/ Jewish Press check:
http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/48557In a cinematic dispute, a New York Jewish filmmaker is squaring off against the director of the Denver Jewish Film Festival because his largely Denver-based film was accepted into, and then rejected from, the festival's
current schedule.
Tony Benjamin, co-director and co-producer of "Leap of Faith" says he is "baffled" by the decision to pull the film from the festival, now underway.
To read the entire article by Chris Leppek/Intermountain Jewish News, click here"What compels Leslie, a 25-year-old New York nanny from Trinidad, brought up in a loving charismatic-Christian family, to become an Orthodox Jew? To what lengths will the elderly Bowsers, formerly Kansas Baptists, go to convert? What steps must the Shurleff family take to join Denver’s Orthodox Jewish community after leaving behind the American dream of a big home and good income? Can Alana, a U.S. Army Reserve officer and single-parent, succeed in converting with little family or community support?
Leap of Faith follows its subjects down the path of conversion from Christianity to Orthodox Judaism. Make no mistake: Judaism does not make it easy. Not only isn’t Judaism a proselytizing religion, rabbis repeatedly test would-be converts’ resolve. Converting demands absolute commitment, shakes the foundations of one’s identity, and can tear a family apart. God Bless America, where freedom of religion keeps faith with the freedom to reinvent oneself. These fascinating stories are as American as apple pie, but the questions they raise about faith, tolerance, community, and the yearning for meaning speak to us all."
Kaj Wilson / The Berlin Jewish Film Festival, April, 2010