Field Notes 2/24/11
25 February 2011
We had 2 interviews scheduled today, one at 10 AM with Mrs. Joni Nathanson and another at 3 PM with a Rabbi from Crown Heights. Late last night our second interview canceled on us 
. As we heard that he cannot make it, someone from the production office called in with an urgent request. Faithful and Fortified – Volume 3 is on its way to production and there is a missing a link about Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin’s relationship with the Rebbe. Rabbi Sholom Duchman is the one who can shed light on it, and they need it ASAP. “We can’t finish the editing without it!”
Rabbi Sholom Duchman of Colel Chabad, took time out of his busy schedule to connect some important dots.
So the 10 AM appointment turned to 11, and Rabbi Duchman took time out of his busy schedule and sat with Yechiel Cagen to share his angle on the story. Amazing is all we can say. Stay tuned for the real thing on DVD…
So its 10:55, and in 5 minutes we have our next interview. Whats the rush? Well, we are very careful about making sure that no two interviews look like they are shot in the same background. It gives a variety to the film which brings comfort to the viewer. So here we are, just switching around the camera and the lights as Mrs. Joni Nathanson arrives. Does anyone know how long it takes to set up the camera and lights for an interview? Whew. We’ll leave it at that.
Joni lived at 1418 President St. She and her family lived just above Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, the Rebbe’s mother. She describes the special closenes her family had with Rebbetzin Chana, and how they would speak with her outside in the yard every day. Joni herself was always afraid of ‘The Crazy Lady’ who lived on the first floor, and the Rebbetzin would always calm her down, and walk her in the building so she wouldn’t be scared!
"Even though we weren't Lubavitch, it was always very important to us to hold the door for the Lubavitcher Rebbe when he would come visit his mother. He would pat our heads as he walked in!"
Probably her fondest memory is of when the Rebbetzin would meet her on the way home from school almost every day. She would always ask “What are you learning in School? Please show me your books!” Now you see, Joni was always quite uncomfortable – she didn’t go to a Jewish school, she went to public school. Most of the Jewish kids around went to Jewish schools and she always felt like an outsider among them. Actually, they made her feel like an outsider. The one person in her life who accepted her unconditionally was Rebbetzin Chana. Joni choked up while describing what that did for her self esteem. Only now after many years can she appreciate it.
If you think that was all, not just yet.
Mr. Yosef Waldman is a resident of Crown Heights. He is solely responsible for the conntinuity of one of the greatest scholarly innovations of the Rebbe. “Rashi Sichos” were the Rebbe’s weekly talks, revealing a novel and brilliantly new way to approach the works of the famous Bible commentator. The year was 1965, and people just couldn’t keep up with the depth, and didn’t treat the project as they should have. The Rebbe was not pleased, and publicly mentioned his plans of stopping these discourses. Mr. Waldman wrote a heartfelt letter, literally begging the Rebbe to continue (which he did). This started a fascinating relationship almost completely revolving around the Rashi Sichos. Its an unbelievable story.
As of now, he only agreed to an audio interview, which was conducted at 8 PM at his home. G-d willing, we will convince him to let us capture his testimony in a video interview in the near future.
That’s all for now.
Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Moshe and Chana Kupfer for opening your home to us for these important interviews.
Setting up for the first shot of the day. This interview will be part of the Faithful and Fortified series - The Rebbe's involvement in Israel's security. Check out the trailers on Vimeo. You wont regret it.
Do you see how we switched around the set to get a different background? Compare the first two pictures in this post, and see what we mean by different...
We had 2 interviews scheduled today, one at 10 AM with Mrs. Joni Nathanson and another at 3 PM with a Rabbi from Crown Heights. Late last night our second interview canceled on us . As we heard that he cannot make it, someone from the production office called in with an urgent request. Faithful and Fortified – Volume 3 is on its way to production and there is a missing a link about Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin’s relationship with the Rebbe. Rabbi Sholom Duchman is the one who can shed light on it, and they need it ASAP. “We can’t finish the editing without it!”
Rabbi Sholom Duchman of Colel Chabad, took time out of his busy schedule to connect some important dots.
So the 10 AM appointment turned to 11, and Rabbi Duchman took time out of his busy schedule and sat with Yechiel Cagen to share his angle on the story. Amazing is all we can say. Stay tuned for the real thing on DVD…
So its 10:55, and in 5 minutes we have our next interview. Whats the rush? Well, we are very careful about making sure that no two interviews look like they are shot in the same background. It gives a variety to the film which brings comfort to the viewer. So here we are, just switching around the camera and the lights as Mrs. Joni Nathanson arrives. Does anyone know how long it takes to set up the camera and lights for an interview? Whew. We’ll leave it at that.
Joni lived at 1418 President St. She and her family lived just above Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, the Rebbe’s mother. She describes the special closenes her family had with Rebbetzin Chana, and how they would speak with her outside in the yard every day. Joni herself was always afraid of ‘The Crazy Lady’ who lived on the first floor, and the Rebbetzin would always calm her down, and walk her in the building so she wouldn’t be scared!
"Even though we weren't Lubavitch, it was always very important to us to hold the door for the Lubavitcher Rebbe when he would come visit his mother. He would pat our heads as he walked in!"
Probably her fondest memory is of when the Rebbetzin would meet her on the way home from school almost every day. She would always ask “What are you learning in School? Please show me your books!” Now you see, Joni was always quite uncomfortable – she didn’t go to a Jewish school, she went to public school. Most of the Jewish kids around went to Jewish schools and she always felt like an outsider among them. Actually, they made her feel like an outsider. The one person in her life who accepted her unconditionally was Rebbetzin Chana. Joni choked up while describing what that did for her self esteem. Only now after many years can she appreciate it.
If you think that was all, not just yet.
Mr. Yosef Waldman is a resident of Crown Heights. He is solely responsible for the conntinuity of one of the greatest scholarly innovations of the Rebbe. “Rashi Sichos” were the Rebbe’s weekly talks, revealing a novel and brilliantly new way to approach the works of the famous Bible commentator. The year was 1965, and people just couldn’t keep up with the depth, and didn’t treat the project as they should have. The Rebbe was not pleased, and publicly mentioned his plans of stopping these discourses. Mr. Waldman wrote a heartfelt letter, literally begging the Rebbe to continue (which he did). This started a fascinating relationship almost completely revolving around the Rashi Sichos. Its an unbelievable story.
As of now, he only agreed to an audio interview, which was conducted at 8 PM at his home. G-d willing, we will convince him to let us capture his testimony in a video interview in the near future.
That’s all for now.
Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Moshe and Chana Kupfer for opening your home to us for these important interviews.
Setting up for the first shot of the day. This interview will be part of the Faithful and Fortified series - The Rebbe's involvement in Israel's security. Check out the trailers on Vimeo. You wont regret it.
Do you see how we switched around the set to get a different background? Compare the first two pictures in this post, and see what we mean by different...
No Comments to “Field Notes 2/24/11”