There’s a wealth of free documentaries online that explore Judaism, Jewish life and history. Here’s a few of our favorites, both religious and cultural. Just click on the title to watch.

The Bible’s Buried Secrets

The Bible’s Buried Secrets vividly recounts the saga of the ancient Israelites and digs deeply into both the Bible and the history of the Israelites through the archaeological artifacts they left behind.

The documentary focuses on the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament, as the foundation for the great monotheistic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

NOVA’s producers worked with an international team of scholars and researchers who studied stories, examined artifacts, deciphered ancient manuscripts, and hypothesized how—in a time of human sacrifice, idolatry, and slavery—the concept of one God emerged. DocumentaryHeaven.com

Trembling Before G-d

Trembling Before G-d is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built around intimately-told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma – how to reconcile their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. As the film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals – some hidden, some out – from the world’s first openly gay Orthodox rabbi to closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians to those abandoned by religious families to Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts. Snagfilms.com

Orthodox Stance

For the last 60 years, the term “Jewish boxer” has been an oxymoron. But Dmitriy Salita, a 25 year-old Russian immigrant is making history as a top professional boxer and a rigorously observant Jew.  While providing an intimate, 3-year long look at the trials and tribulations faced by an up and coming professional boxer, ORTHODOX STANCE is a portrait of seemingly incompatible cultures and characters (boxing trainers, promoters and rabbis) working together to support Dmitriy’s rare and remarkable devotion to both Orthodox Judaism and the pursuit of a professional boxing title.  In the end, ORTHODOX STANCE is about more than just boxing and religion, but a young man’s search for meaning in life. SnagFilms.com

The Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists

“The Free Voice of Labor: The Jewish Anarchists” traces the history of a Yiddish anarchist newspaper publishing its final issue. The story is mostly told by the newspaper’s now elderly, but decidedly unbowed staff. This is the story of one of the largest radical movements among Jewish immigrant workers in the 19th and 20th centuries and the conditions that led them to band together. FreeDocumentaries.org

The Story of God: Part II

This program looks at religions in the Abrahamic tradition. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are examined in order to understand the ideas about God they share and the issues that divide them. The documentary focuses on the relations between men and God and the numerous issues that arise from these considerations. These may include: how does God want us to live? Does God have a plan for the world and humanity? What about free will? If God created humanity why does God allow humanity to suffer? Editors note: the first part of the documentary is about Judaism, the rest is about Christianity and Islam…but the part about Judaism is so good that we included this documentary in our list. DocumentaryHeaven.com

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