Educational Media Reviews Online

Beyond the Pulpit aims to reveal the human being hidden under a rabbi's robes, in this instance, 75-year-old William Kramer, a Reform rabbi and professor in Southern California. It succeeds in its mission, portraying Dr. Kramer participating in numerous non-religious activities some of which might surprise those who think rabbis do little else than pray and sermonize. Although it is part of a series purportedly covering social issues, no "issue" is investigated here. Rather, I would classify it as biography, involving religion solely because the central figure is a rabbi who discusses some of his personal beliefs and leads prayers several times on camera. However, it is legitimate to classify it as religion, given that Dr. Kramer is a member of the clergy and this role frames everything he does. It may be best to compromise by calling the content "religious biography," and allow viewers their choice of primary category.

Dr. Kramer is treated with great respect and empathy throughout the piece, which moves very quickly and smoothly from a brief introduction and a few telling recollections of childhood to scenes typical of his current daily life: driving through the city, shopping in a thrift shop (he calls this "urban archeology"), praying with his congregation, leading art students on a field trip, walking on the beach, washing his face upon arising clad in a striped nightshirt, conducting a funeral, and more. In between, he tells candid stories about himself-mainly how he came to hold particular beliefs about life and God-and he shares the philosophical insights that have guided him in his personal and professional lives. Technically, the production is professional, with good camerawork and excellent pacing.

A man of many parts who resembles an ultra-Orthodox elder, Dr. Kramer has worked as an actor and model. Excerpts from an appearance in LA Law and advertising blurbs bearing his likeness attest to a degree of success in these endeavors. We visit with his second wife, step into his home, get glances of his unbearably cluttered home "office" and the newspaper office where he imagines himself a Hollywood-style reporter as he edits, and numerous other haunts. In the end, we come away believing that rabbis are, indeed, human beings as well as spiritual leaders. This one seems particularly kindly and down-to-earth as well as understanding of human frailty.

The blurb on the container portrays Dr. Kramer as "one of the most forward thinking theologians and scholars," a claim this reviewer found went beyond the evidence on the tape. But the portrait lives up to its subtitle in showing the many facets of a man who inspires faith in the people whose lives he touches.

Recommended for secondary school and undergraduate-level courses on contemporary American religion and/or Reform Judaism.