“Ask the Rabbi”

The exhibition, The Whole Truth… everything you always wanted to know about Jews, deals with common as well as uncommon questions about Judaism. We put some of these questions to seven rabbis and filmed their responses. All of them serve in Germany and represent a wide spectrum of religious belief: orthodox, liberal, conservative, progressive.

Inspired by research done on a number of Internet forums with names like “Ask the Rabbi,” “Askmoses,” and “Dear Rabbi,” in which rabbis from all over the world answer questions on how to handle religious law in everyday life, we organized the shooting of this film at a studio in Berlin-Wedding: with kosher catering, a chair, two cameras, and our seven interview partners.

There was much laughter along with answers also to questions that we hadn’t asked. We learned for instance that many rabbis use facebook to connect with and advise their congregants. And that one can go a long way, when hosting guests who eat kosher, with a simple unpeeled banana and a glass of tea.

The film-installation Ask the Rabbi will be shown in its own room as part of the exhibition. You can see it starting tomorrow, 22 March 2013, at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Martina Lüdicke, Curator of the Exhibition “The Whole Truth”