Kosher Love

Kosher Love
Directed byEvan Beloff
Written byEvan Beloff
Produced byFrederic Bohbot
StarringYisroel Bernath
Distributed byCBC Television
Release date
  • 2017 (2017)
CountryCanada

Kosher Love is a 2017 Canadian documentary film of love as understood by Orthodox and Hasidic Jews. The documentary was directed by filmmaker Evan Beloff and aired on the CBC-TV television channel.[1][2][3] The film was also entered into Jewish Film Festivals in Canada, the United States, and in Poland.[4]

Background

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Kosher Love was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,[5] and notedly focuses on the advice and guidance offered by Rabbi Yisroel Bernath of the Chabad Hasidic community. Bernath serves as the spiritual director of a Chabad House in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and as the chaplain at Concordia University (Loyola Campus).[6] Prior to the making of Kosher Love, Bernath received public attention for his matchmaking service known as "JMontreal" which represent an attempt to offer formal matchmaking services in addition to more common pastoral care offered by rabbis.[7][8][9] While Bernath is portrayed in the film as a friendly and affable, he is viewed somewhat critically in the Jewish community press for a perceived dismissiveness of all non-Orthodox religious denominations.[10]

The film was written and directed by Evan Beloff and produced by Frederic Bohbot. Both Beloff and Bohbot are secular Jewish filmmakers from Montreal but have turned to the Hasidic Bernath for guidance.[11] The film was noted for offering an engaging and friendly introduction to religious Jewish perspectives on the subjects of love and marriage.[10] The documentary is described as offering a intriguing yet whimsical view of religious approaches to the quest for love,[6] and of an interweaving of a complex religious narrative involving the exploration of love as both a object of fear and of sacredness.[1][12] The film purports to explore the challenges facing secular Jews who attempt to reconcile religious views of marriage as an imperative to unmarried Jews, in particular, the challenge concerns Hasidic approaches to marriage which may involve notions of arranged-marriages.[2] Subsequently, the film was nominated as a finalist for the Canadian Screen Award for Best Documentary Program at the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Kosher Love". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC-TV). 23 July 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b Beloff, Evan (23 July 2017). "Three 40-something-year-old men go on a search for answers about love". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ "For A Unique Look At Jewish Marriage Watch 'Kosher Love' On CBC TV Feb.16 At 9 Pm". Alberta Jewish News. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Kosher Love". Jewish Film Festivals. 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Kosher Love". Bunbury Films. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b Brownstein, Bill (10 February 2017). "Love Rabbi makes marriage work in Kosher Love, a documentary about Jewish matchmaking". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  7. ^ Collard, Nathalie (14 February 2015). "Le rabbin de l'amour". La Presse. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  8. ^ Stern, Cara (5 March 2013). "Matchmaking site hopes to pair young Jews". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. ^ Markoe, Lauren (19 January 2012). "Rabbis Play Matchmakers On New Jewish Dating Sites". Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  10. ^ a b ramsay, cynthia (20 October 2017). "Orthodox and in love?". The Jewish Independent. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  11. ^ "When swiping left falls short". Lubavitch.com. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  12. ^ "World Premiere: Kosher Love". Concordia University. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Kosher Love doc nominated for Screen Award". The Canadian Jewish News. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
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