Loading
A Fire in the Forest: The Life and Legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov
Genres
Documentary
Overview
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Ba'al Shem Tov ("Master of the Good Name"), is one of the most beloved and celebrated, yet elusive, figures in Jewish history. Today, Jews worldwide – and even non-Jews – revere him as the founder of the Hasidic movement, a 18th-century offshoot of Judaism that promotes a mystical interpretation of the Bible, and as a model of piety and spirituality. The documentary A FIRE IN THE FOREST explores the life and legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov through interviews with religious leaders and scholars, and on-location footage. The title derives from a tale about rabbis finding a hidden fire in the forest where they could appeal to God for help and have their prayers answered.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
58 min
Release Date
2012-07-26
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
0
Vote Average
0
Cast
Meet the talented actors who bring the movie to life.
Marc Soloway
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
Similar Movies
Explore movies similar to this one that you might also enjoy.
5.0
Rabbi Wolff
William Wolff is nearly 90 and perhaps the most unconventional rabbi in the world. As the State Rabbi of North-East Germany, he looks after the Jewish Communities in Schwerin and Rostock, but still lives in a bungalow near Henley-on-Thames. Midweek he usually flies from Heathrow to Germany. After the services on Saturdays, he either makes his way home or on a leisure city trip. His annual highlight is betting at the Horse Race of Royal Ascot and joining a fasting-retreat in Bad Pyrmont. Willy Wolff leads a Jet-Set-Life, which he actually cannot afford, but dealing with money isn't one of his strengths. Naturally, that occasionally leads to quite temporal conflicts. Rabbi Wolff is the portrait of a fascinating character, a deeply religious man who, blessed with a tremendous joie de vivre, defies all conventions. More than that, it gives insight into the world of Judaism and introduces us to a uniquely German biography.
2016-04-14 | de
4.5
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America
A Life Apart: Hasidism in America, is the first in-depth documentary about a distinctive, traditional Eastern European religious community. In an historic migration after World War II, Hasidism found it's most vital center in America. Both challenging and embracing American values, Hasidim seek those things which many Americans find most precious: family, community, and a close relationship to God. Integrating critical and analytical scholarship with a portrait of the daily life, beliefs, and history of contemporary Hasidic Jews in New York City, the film focuses on the conflicts, burdens, and rewards of the Hasidic way of life.
1998-08-25 | en
0.0
Zeit der Verleumder
A documentary by Dror Dayan and Susann Witt-Stahl, Germany 2021
2022-05-22 | en
7.0
Mystical Brain
Documentary / Other - Is it possible to shed light on the states of grace experienced by mystics and meditators? Mystical Brain shows us the most recent discoveries of scientific research on this phenomenon in North America and abroad. It seems that mystical ecstasy is a profoundly transformative experience. It could contribute to people's psychic and bodily health, treat depression and speed up the healing process in patients who combine meditation with conventional medicine.
2006-01-01 | en
0.0
Wellstone!
Paul Wellstone was the charismatic Minnesota progressive who used grassroots organizing to get elected and give ordinary people a stake in government. His 3rd election campaign was cut short when his small plane crashed into the north woods of Minnesota just 11 days before the 2002 election. Wellstone! explores the origin of his politics, his controversial road to the United States Senate, his deep bond with his wife and 'co-senator' Sheila, and the legacy of a life of progressive populism.
2004-10-17 | en
4.5
The Eternal Jew
A Nazi propaganda film made to promote anti-Semitism among the German people. Newly-shot footage of Jewish neighborhoods in recently-conquered Poland is combined with preexisting film clips and stills to defame the religion and advance Hitler's slurs that its adherents were plotting to undermine European civilization.
1940-11-28 | de
7.8
The Ornament of the World
Filmed in Cordoba, Granada, Seville, and Toledo, this documentary retraces the 800-year period in medieval Spain when Muslims, Christians, and Jews forged a common cultural identity that frequently transcended their religious differences, revealing what made this rare and fruitful collaboration possible, and what ultimately tore it apart.
2019-11-19 | en
6.1
Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy
This documentary examines how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime made use of ancient mysticism, occultism, and mind-control techniques in their efforts to win the war.
1998-01-01 | en
0.0
Adios Amor
In Adios Amor, the discovery of lost photographs sparks the search for a hero that history forgot—Maria Moreno, a migrant mother driven to speak out by her twelve children’s hunger. Years before Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta launched the United Farm Workers, Maria picked up the only weapon she had—her voice—and became an outspoken leader in an era when women were relegated to the background. The first farm worker woman in America to be hired as a union organizer, Maria’s story was silenced and her legacy buried—until now.
2022-11-13 | en
4.2
H. Spencer Lewis: Restorer of Rosicrucianism
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of H. Spencer Lewis's initiation into the Rosicrucian Tradition, the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC presents this inspiring DVD about the life of H. Spencer Lewis and the mystical experiences that led him to seek out the Rosicrucians in France and then to establish the Rosicrucian Order, AMORC in America.
2009-01-01 | en
8.0
Aside From That
How do we live, knowing we are going to die? In search of answers, we probed the minds of atheists, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, physicians, philosophers, authors, academics, a legendary stand-up comic, and scores of random pedestrians.
| en
8.0
Merton: A Film Biography
In his lifetime, Thomas Merton was hailed as a prophet and censured for his outspoken social criticism. For nearly 27 years he was a monk of the austere Trappist order, where he became an eloquent spiritual writer and mystic as well as an anti-war advocate and witness to peace. Merton: A Film Biography provides the first comprehensive look at this remarkable 20th century religious philosopher who wrote, in addition to his immensely popular autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain, over 60 books on some of the most pressing social issues of our time, some of which are excerpted here. Merton offers an engaging profile of a man whose presence in the world touched millions of people and whose words and thoughts continue to have a profound impact and relevance today.
1984-01-01 | en
6.8
One of Us
Penetrating the insular world of New York's Hasidic community, focusing on three individuals driven to break away despite threats of retaliation.
2017-09-10 | en
6.8
Awake: The Life of Yogananda
An unconventional biography by Oscar nominee Paola di Florio and Sundance winner Lisa Leeman about Hindu mystic Paramahansa Yogananda who brought yoga and meditation to the West in 1920 and authored the spiritual classic "Autobiography of a Yogi," which became the go-to book for seekers from George Harrison to Steve Jobs.
2014-10-10 | en
0.0
The 43 Group: The Unfinished War
The 43 Group was an English anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen in the immediate wake of World War II when, on their return to London, they encountered British fascist organisations such as Jeffrey Hamm’s “British League of Ex-Servicemen” and later Oswald Mosley’s reformed fascist party, the Union Movement.
2000-09-02 | en
0.0
Orphaned Land: A Heaven You May Create
Spotlighting 30 years of the Israeli metal band's career, A Heaven You May Create explores not only their immense discography but also the impact they left on the music industry.
2023-12-01 | en
8.0
Regina
The first woman rabbi in the world, Regina Jonas, comes to light, courtesy of Rachel Weisz – who plays her – and her father George Weisz, who was the executive producer for this poetic and beautiful documentary. The daughter of an Orthodox Jewish peddler, Jonas was ordained in Berlin in 1935. During the Nazi era and the war, her sermons and her unparalleled devotion brought encouragement to the persecuted German Jews. Regina Jonas was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. The only surviving photo of Jonas serves as a leitmotif for the film, showing a determined young woman gazing at the camera with self-confidence.
2013-04-25 | en
0.0
Phenomenon
A portrait of Baba Vanga, born Vangeliya Pandeva Dimitrova, a blind Bulgarian prophet, mystic, clairvoyant, and herbalist. Millions of people believed she possessed paranormal abilities.The first part of the documentary portrait of the prophet Baba Vanga not only as a mysterious supernatural figure, but as a living and immediate person. The second part follows the discussion between prominent Bulgarian scientists and intellectuals who, with few exceptions, completely reject Vanga's abilities and advise the film to be reworked with a view to a materialistic understanding of man. The two parts contrast Vanga, the crowds of visitors to her home and the stiffened way of thinking of the representatives of science in Bulgaria in those years. Forbidden to the general public after its first screening.
1977-04-24 | bg
0.0
The Hermetic Jung
Acclaimed author Gary Lachman looks at renowned psychoanalyst C.G. Jung's work from an esoteric viewpoint, drawing parallells to the disciplines of mysticism and occultism.
2016-03-16 | en
7.7
Monkey on a Stick
The story of the Hare Krishna movement in the West, contrasting the spiritual exploration of its devotees with the leadership's systemic, long-term cover-up of criminality, moral decay and abuse of power.
2024-10-18 | en