Event

Praying With Lior

Presented by the St. Louis Jewish Community Inclusion Initiative and the St. Louis Jewish Film Festival and sponsored by the St. Louis Jewish Community Center and Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Praying with Lior intorduces Lior Liebling, also called "the little rebbe." Lior has Down Syndrome and has spent his entire life praying with utter abandon. Is he everyone's unfulfilled wishes and expectations? Lior - whose name means "my light" - lost his mother at age six and her words and spirit hover over the film. While everyone agrees Lior is closer to God, he's also a burden, a best friend, an inspiration, and an embarrassment, depending on which family member is speaking. As Lior approaches Bar Mitzvah, the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony, different characters provide a window into life spent "praying with Lior." The movie poses difficult questions such as, what is "disability" and who really talks to God? Told with intimacy and humor, Praying with Lior is a family story, a triumph story, a grief story, a divinely-inspired story. Discussion to follow. Jewish Community Disabilities Resource Fair at 1:00pm.