Dokumentale
  • Program
  • D'Hub
  • Magazine
Tickets
  • EN
  • |
  • DE
  • EN
  • |
  • DE
Films, 
Interview

'God is optional'

An Interview with Amichai Lau Lavie

culture
society
Kajo Roscher
07.05.2025

Rabbi Amichai Lau Lavie is the heir to a rabbinic lineage that spans thirty-eight generations. He is also a drag queen and queer father. The protagonist of Sabbath Queen reimagines religious traditions through art and community. 

—One thing that really comes through in the documentary is how deeply engaged you’ve been in community work over the years. What makes community so meaningful to you?

Amichai Lau Lavie: I think we are facing a plague of isolation. In all cultures, we inherited the notion of community. We’re not here just for ourselves. In order to be free, I need to make sure you are free. If my sister is suffering, I'm there to help her and she will help me when it's my time to need help. So community is really about human resilience and kindness first and foremost. I think in the Jewish world, like in many other worlds, that is the secret recipe for our strength: community. That too is not a given. As somebody who grew up in a very tight knit community and family, but found myself on the outside, on the fringe, I realized that I need community for myself. And by building one, I get to have one and others get to have it too. 

—What were moments that were especially important to you on your religious journey?

What comes to me first is a moment in my early 20s when I felt very lost, when I sort of like the R.E.M song, lost my religion. I didn’t feel part of my religion because of my queerness and my politics. It didn’t feel like I had a seat at the table. But I found it in nature. I sat under a tree one day and meditated and closed my eyes. And I felt the presence of what I felt then and feel now is the goddess that mother nature is. Something bigger than me said: You’re not alone. We got you. 

Another really important moment was when my oldest daughter who's now 18 was a few weeks old, and she was in the hospital for some procedure. And you’re sitting in front of a baby with tubes and I was just thinking: What the hell. How do I make her feel good?

And I remembered lullabies and the bedtime prayers from my childhood. And I remembered that I can sing those to her. I have that in my hard drive. I have tools at my disposal to handle crises. And so I sang her these lullabies. She survived and she is well.

—Can you explain how you decided to make Lab/Shul a god-optional community and what that means?

A lot of people are allergic to the word God, to the concept of a God. Because religion has betrayed so many of us. Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other religions are patriarchal, misogynistic and homophobic. Religion is holding on to a lot of beauty, but around it there are many layers that have kept many of us away from being loved or seen as holy. That is why a lot of people have baggage with organized religion. 

And Lab/Shul is a spiritual laboratory. We keep experimenting, so we reserve the right to change our mind. But for now, we chose “God optional” to tell everybody who's an atheist or an agnostic, for whom the word God doesn't work or for whom the concept of a male God feels ridiculous. It's optional. It's a metaphor. It doesn't have to work for everybody. 

—How do you personally experience the connection between religion and creativity?

Everything about religion is about creativity. We eat this, we eat that, we say this, we sing that. That's creative, right? We've created recipes and songs and ways to really lean into the notion of liberation as a companion. But a lot of people dial it in. They're like, it's just copy paste. But really what it's about is an invitation for creativity. 

As I'm speaking to you today, we're on the eve of Passover. What are we going to talk about this year? This is a tough year. There's a war going on and we are in the middle of trauma, in the middle of traumatizing others. So you need to be creative to not just read what you inherited. We can say, okay, let’s pause: I just read this poem. I just met this person. I want to ask a question. Now, we are invited to be creative. Our religion isn’t just a recycled museum piece, but an ongoing work of life. During every religious act, whether it's Easter or Christmas, Ramadan or Passover, we are invited to be creative. And the more creative we are, the more we become part of the holiday or the religion. 

—What do you hope people take away from the documentary?

These are very tough times. As somebody born in Israel, as somebody who's Jewish and loves being Jewish I know that for a lot of people being Jewish and being Israeli is perceived as very problematic. And unfortunately, the political situation is horrible and the current Israeli government is horrible. And what's happening in Israel and in Palestine is horrible. I come from the school of thought of a jewish voice, that isn’t the majority, but it’s not small either, that says: It is never “either or”. It's not about I'm right and you're wrong. It's not about my land or your land. It's about “and”. I can be gay and Jewish. I can be pro Israel and pro Palestinian. I can be advocating for my people's survival and my neighbor's survival. If I don't hold on to both, then I'm back in the binary that has held us back from humanity. And so my message is always going to be” and”, and “both”. How do we meet in the messy middle where we honor our differences? If the film can help show people that there are Jewish voices like mine who are proud and loud and embrace the messy middle of fluidity instead of the binary boundaries of “either or” that's the path forward towards peace, towards acceptance of the other, towards tolerance and towards dignity. 

Get your Ticket for 'Sabbath Queen' now!

Film

Sabbath Queen

13. Jun / 20:00 / Atelier Gardens
14. Jun / 20:00 / Atelier Gardens
16. Jun / 21:45 / Freiluftkino Kreuzberg
A thirty-eighth generation rabbi, drag queen rebel, and queer father: Rabbi Amichai breaks with tradition. The film captures Amichai’s search for a new, inclusive Judaism. A provocative, loving portrait of someone who shatters boundaries and brings people together.
Kajo Roscher
Editor

Kajo Roscher was born in Berlin and is currently studying political science at the Free University of Berlin. In 2023 they did an internship at the taz and published articles in the Berlin and culture section of the taz. Before studying, Kajo Roscher took part in the journalism programme at the School of The New York Times and completed a voluntary social year at the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin.

More posts by this author  

Categories

Book
D'Hub
D'Lounge
D'Salon
Festival
Films
Interview
Podcast
VX

Hashtags

  • society
  • environment
  • humanrights
  • culture
  • youth
  • music
  • berlin
  • journalism
  • art
  • democracy

Recent Articles

21.06.2025

Festival Highlights: Breaking the Silence

Whether it’s big names on stage or quiet, touching in-between moments – Doxumentale is all about those unforgettable experiences. In our highlight series, we’re capturing exactly those moments: performances, quotes, encounters, and impressions that shape the spirit of the festival. Relive them here with us – or discover what you might have missed!

20.06.2025

Award Winning Films of Doxumentale 2025

In a world that’s always shifting, it’s the stories that hold us, move us, and transform us. The award-winning films of Doxumentale 2025 open doors to new perspectives, touch our souls, and challenge us to stay awake — to remember, to awaken, and to change together.

20.06.2025

Moving cinema, wherever you are

As the Doxumentale festival draws to a close, the journey of extraordinary documentary storytelling continues. Until June 30th, immerse yourself in a curated collection of our powerful, moving festival films. Bring these stories home, and let their impact linger long after the screen goes dark.

RSS-Feeds

  • Recent posts
Festival

Dancing Scientists

04.12.2024

We were allowed to turn on the lights in the theatre at ACUD Kino for change. Director Meritxell Campos Olivé and producer Dieter Meier joined us on the second weekend of the Dokumentale to discuss their documentary Surfing Einstein.

Festival

The Stories Behind the Headlines

11.06.2025

How do we confront fear, disinformation, and extremist manipulation? Director Havana Marking shares the story behind a bold and timely investigation into the fragile state of democracy.

Book

Festival Diary Day 8

19.10.2024

Another day at Dokumentale is over. Let us have a look back at some highlights!

Supported by
Supported by Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg
  • Program
  • D'Hub
  • Magazine
  • Categories
  • Tags
  • Authors
  • Search
  • Bookmarks
  • Tickets
  • Venues
  • Archive
  • Contact
  • Team
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Imprint
  • Cookie-Settings
...