A new Rebbe documentary is telling the story of one of the most influential rabbis of the 20th century through a single object: the public menorah. “The Rebbe: Emissary of Light,” a feature documentary about Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is now filming, Deadline reported Monday. Rachel Greenberg is directing and producing.
Schneerson, known to his followers simply as the Rebbe, led the Chabad-Lubavitch movement from 1951 until his death in 1994. Under his leadership, Chabad grew from a small Hasidic group into a worldwide network built around Jewish education and outreach.
What the Rebbe documentary covers
The film centers on one of the Rebbe’s most visible ideas, and one of his most argued-over. He believed Hanukkah lights should be seen in public, not kept indoors. In 1974, Chabad lit a small wooden menorah outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Within a few years, giant menorahs were going up in city squares across the country.
Not everyone welcomed them. Some Jewish organizations and the American Civil Liberties Union challenged the displays in court, arguing they crossed the line between church and state. The fight reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1989 that a Chabad menorah could stand outside a Pittsburgh government building beside the city’s Christmas tree.
The documentary will also look at the Rebbe’s ties to world leaders. He counseled and corresponded with presidents including Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, according to The Algemeiner.
“What drew me to the Rebbe was the extraordinary influence one man could have on the world,” Greenberg said in a statement. “The public menorah offers a window into his larger vision: a belief that Jewish identity should be embraced openly and that every person, regardless of faith or background, has a responsibility to make a difference. Through this film, we will explore the man behind that vision, how he inspired others to bring it to life, and what his example can teach us about our own capacity to make a difference.”
The film will draw on archival footage, interviews and research from Jewish Educational Media (JEM), the Brooklyn nonprofit that preserves the Rebbe’s archives.
Honors from Washington
The Rebbe’s influence outlived him. Congress posthumously awarded Schneerson the Congressional Gold Medal in a bill President Bill Clinton signed in November 1994, recognizing his contributions to education, morality and charity. He was the first religious leader to receive it.
Every president since Carter has also proclaimed Education and Sharing Day in the Rebbe’s honor. President George W. Bush marked the occasion with Chabad rabbis in the Oval Office.
The team behind the Rebbe documentary
Greenberg was a producer on two earlier documentaries, “Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin” and “Centered: Joe Lieberman,” both directed by Jonathan Gruber. Rob Schwartz, who also produced both films, is an executive producer. He founded Hidden Light Institute, the nonprofit studio behind them.
George Rohr, Jonathan Tratt and Igor Tulchinsky are also executive producers, and the Marcia and Stanley Reiter Family Foundation is a producer. JEM’s Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin and Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of the bestselling biography “Rebbe,” are consulting producers. Rohr said he hopes viewers come away knowing not just what the Rebbe achieved but who he was.
What’s next
No distributor or release date has been announced.
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