Lisa LeBourgeois, Cultural Affairs Officer at the Israeli Embassy in Washington leading a discussion (Photo by Felicia R. Black)
More than 120 film fans turned out at Tikvat Israel Congregation in Rockville, Md., on Saturday evening, Jan. 20, to view “The Women’s Balcony,” a prize-winning Israeli film produced in 2016. The crowd watched the movie together and then after some nourishment and coffee from Mayorga Organic, a commercial sponsor of the event, Lisa LeBourgeois, Cultural Affairs Officer at the Israeli Embassy in Washington led a discussion of the film and its meaning. The movie is about a tragic accident in a Jerusalem synagogue that left a congregation with repairs that are both physical and emotional. A charismatic rabbi enters and appears to help the congregation but causes a rift between the genders. The new rabbi introduces new traditions that leave the women unsettled. The women attempt to unite their neighborhood and preserve their traditions. A second highly praised Israeli film, “Harmonia,” will be shown at 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 27.
