A Tale of a Woman and a Robe
Synopsis
The Mikveh ritual is the final step in the process of joining the Jewish people. The converts, both men and women, are required to immerse themselves in the Mikveh in the presence of three rabbinical judges, while the women wear nothing but a
robe. This ceremony served as the basis for the “‘A Tale of a Woman and a Robe’ Ritual Immersion of Female Converts”, video art performance and exhibit at Tel Aviv Artist’s House in 2013.
The film follows the creation process of the performance and exhibit, and presents
female voices surrounding this issue. As an artist and a woman who, according to
religious law cannot offer testimony, and certainly cannot serve as a rabbinical judge, I wish to offer an artistic cinematic testament that exposes and examines the role of the woman, who is both present and absent in the ritual.
Credits
Director(s)
Nurit Jacobs-Yinon
Producer(s)
Nurit Jacobs-Yinon
Cinematography
Roni Katzenelson
Editor
Bracha Zisman-Cohen
Original Music
Didi Erez, Ruth Wieder-Magen
Original Language
Hebrew
Subtitles
English
Photo credits
Aluma Films
Sound Design
Rotem Dror
Festival Highlights
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Winner
Israeli Free-Style Documentary Forum Award2013
Reviews
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"Jacobs-Yinon has taken what seems like an obscure legal
matter and has made it resonate for all of us, men or women,
Jewish or gentile, religious or secular."
- Emily D. Bilski, curator and scholar specializing in modern and contemporary art. A two-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award
