Treyf: Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky’s Moving Documentary

There seems to be an inherent tension between organized religion and homosexuality. Treyf, Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Madansky’s moving documentary, takes its name from the Yiddish word for forbidden (“unkosher”) food. But for the filmmakers, who fell in love at an alternative Passover seder, it also refers to Jewish lesbians who don’t fit into traditional Jewish society. Treyf offers a serious yet humorous look at questions of religion, Zionism, and family from a lesbian perspective, showing how concern for Judaism goes beyond formal rules of admission.