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To be a Jewish person is to be loyal to centuries of tradition. To be a Jewish person in America is to maintain that tradition in a different promised land. ANOTHER MITZVAH explores the traditions of Jewish culture and the myriad ways Jewish Americans embrace them.

Using vintage film footage, family photos and the history of individual experiences, ANOTHER MITZVAH explores the diverse ways American Jews understand, appreciate and value the impact of their heritage on society and themselves. Actor/entertainer Alan King, singer/impressionist Marilyn Michaels, author Erica Jong, sports broadcaster Bill Mazer, political satirist/artist Geoffrey Moss and many others share their stories in an exploration of the achievements of and challenges faced by 20th century Jewish Americans.

For American Jews who found themselves in cities without a rabbi, without a kosher butcher shop, without a synagogue to connect them with the greater Jewish community, Jewish life depended on the desire to be Jewish and family became the driving force that kept the flames of tradition lit. No matter where they live, or as different as they are, all Jews find strength in the basic elements of Judaism ? family, Torah, a quest for moral truth and a shared history of a particularly Jewish way of understanding life. ANOTHER MITZVAH illustrates how the strength and power of family and the home guides, sustains and builds upon these fundamental elements of Jewish life to ensure the survival of the Jewish culture and preserve a way of life. Bill Mazer, like many Jews, sees this as “a destiny … handed down one generation to the other.”

ANOTHER MITZVAH illuminates the many facets of the Jewish-American legacy ? the humor that reflects the spirit of the Jewish mind, the music that reveals the depths of the Jewish soul and what author Erica Jong describes in the program as “the joyousness of our heritage.” But being Jewish in America also presents choices and opportunities not accounted for in the traditional foundations of the religion, a democratic take on the laws of a Torah thousands of years old. ANOTHER MITZVAH explores how American Jews bring the culture of their ancestors into modern times, including the changing and varied roles of women in Jewish life and the need for parents to instill a Jewish sense of the world in their children.

ANOTHER MITZVAH is the sequel to A LAUGH, A TEAR, A MITZVAH

Producer: WLIW New York. Executive producer: Roy Hammond. Producers: Roman Brygider and Sam Toperoff. Director: Roman Brygider. Writer: Sam Toperoff.