Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2008)
When: Sunday, January 18, 6:00pm
Where: Congregation Or Ami 9400 Huguenot Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23235
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.
Blessed is the heart with strength to stop it’s beating for honor’s sake.
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.
~ Hannah Senesh, days before her capture by the Nazis
Narrated by three-time Academy Award nominee Joan Allen, Blessed is the Match is first documentary feature about Hannah Sensesh, the World-War II era poet and diarist who became a paratrooper, resistance fighter and modern-day Joan of Arc.
Safe in Palestine in 1944, Hannah joined the mission to rescue Jews from her native Hungary. Shockingly, it was the only military rescue mission for Jews during the Holocaust. Hannah parachuted behind enemy lines, was captured, tortured, and ultimately executed by the Nazis. Incredibly, her mother Catherine witnessed the entire ordeal – first as a prisoner with Hannah and later as her advocate, braving the bombed-out streets of Budapest in a desperate attempt to save her daughter.
Through interviews, eyewitness accounts and the prolific writings of Hannah and Catherine Senesh, Blessed is the Match recreates Hannah’s mission and imprisonment. The film also explores events in Hannah’s childhood and outside her life, resulting in a rich portrait with several interlocking strands.
The Reel Theology series is presented by Congregation Or Ami as a program that is both intellectual and enjoyable. Lively group discussions that relate the content of the film to current events and Judaic values follow the film led by Rabbi Ahuva Zaches.
Please bring a nosh to share for potlucks that always precede the screening. While the film is free and we welcome everyone, donations are accepted.
For more information contact Reel_Theology@Or-Ami.com.