Both these films ultimately address two of the most urgent and divisive issues facing Judaism today: "Who is a Jew?" and "Who defines Judaism?"

Anat Zuria began filming "Purity" six weeks after her fifth child was born. Following the traditional laws of tacharat hamischpachah, family purity, she refrained from physical contact with her husband, including sexual relations, for six weeks. She felt "untouchable" during this time - and in her secret nighttime trips to the mikveh. In her film, she explores the meaning of mikveh through the stories of Israeli women: a soon-to-be bride and her mother, a woman who refuses to follow the laws of tahara, and others. From them, we learn the rewards of mikveh, and the sometimes harsh cost of questioning or rejecting tahara.

"Moving Heaven and Earth" focuses on the Abayudaya, Ugandans who have practiced Judaism since 1919. Despite threats of torture or murder during the reign of Idi Amin, many remained true to their faith and later resumed their observances. In February 2002, at the request of the Abayudaya, an American beit din, rabbinical council, traveled to Uganda to "convert" over 300 Ugandan Jews. Through interviews with tribal members and views of the mikveh and wedding ceremonies, the film shows us the Abayudaya passion for Judaism, and the joyfulness and poignancy of their celebrations.

Nevertheless, the Jewishness of the Abayudaya is rejected by some. Similarly, the Jewish and feminine identities of the Orthodox women in "Purity" are challenged. Watching these films together is fascinating: both raise critical questions about tradition, identity, the roles of women within Judaism, the limits of flexibility, and the meanings of mikveh and conversion.

As a Jew by choice, I was touched deeply by both films. My mikveh experience was a moment of intimacy with God, confirming my Jewishness, forever changing my identity. Perhaps that is what the Abayudaya experienced as well. But, as with the Abayudaya and some non-traditional women, I am, after all, not regarded as a Jew by some Jews. The responses by some Jews to these issues - conversion and changing roles for Jewish women - are disturbing, and raise questions about Jewish identity that continue to reverberate. These films take us more deeply into those questions - and that, too, is tradition.

Christine Dietz is a member of Congregation Bet Ha'am.

2004 MJFF Program Book edited by Abby Zimet