By COLlive reporter
70 stories in 70 short films for 70 weeks in honor of 70 years.
The JEM organization in New York is launching an all-encompassing, new initiative of producing 70 original clips that will be exploring an array of ideas, topics, events and personalities from throughout the Rebbe’s leadership.
Each week, another short film will be released to the public in an effort to illuminate the Rebbe’s impact and enduring influence in honor of the70 years of his leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch.
“Seventy years into the Rebbe’s leadership, it’s clear that the Rebbe’s ideas and projects are more enduring than ever. With the passage of time, the world’s appreciation for what the Rebbe gives us continues to grow,” Rabbi Elkanah Shmotkin, executive director of JEM, told COLlive.com.
He said: “The Rebbe once explained, based on a verse in Tehillim, that tzaddikim (righteous people) are compared to cedar trees and date palms. Some, like the cedar, are tall, strong, and beautiful. But they do not give fruit. And then there are tzaddikim who are like date palms. They provide fruit which give energy and vitality to those around them.”
“Seventy years after Yud Shvat, the amount of years the Zohar tells us it takes for a date palm to give fruit, it is clear that the Rebbe’s impact did not only grow tall and strong, but that it has brought forth fruit, and continues to do so, inspiring more and more each day. Highlighting this idea is the inspiration behind our project.”
On a mission to share the Rebbe with the world, JEM has over the past 25 years successfully spearheaded a surge of worldwide interest in learning from the Rebbe, by constantly evolving to stay meaningful, fresh, and relevant. This project brings together everything JEM stands for, they said.
“We are producing a new, different, film each week, so this project will have something for everyone,” says Rabbi Yitzchak Tsap, Living Torah director and director of the 70 years project. “From the seasoned chassid to the recently initiated, everyone will walk away having enjoyed, learned something, and desiring to learn more.”
Rabbi Tsap and the production team, along with his content team, Rabbis Shmuli Hurwitz and Choli Mishulovin, has taken a monumental task – exploring 70 diverse points in the Rebbe’s leadership through video, audio, interviews and documents, and bringing them to life in this series of short films.
Through capturing 70 enduring events, ideas, and personalities in the Rebbe’s leadership, viewers will get a sense of the Rebbe’s enduring impact. Utilizing all the audio, videos, photos, interviews and other content collected and preserved by JEM over the years, the films paint a vivid picture by bringing together historical context, first hand testimony, and archival footage.
The scope of the stories is broad, stretching from watershed moments to personal interactions. Some are well-known, and some are untold. But the one theme that runs through them all is the Rebbe’s enduring, timeless, and relevant message.
Dedication opportunities are available. To learn more about sponsoring one of these projects, please click here, or email us at [email protected].
