Praying With Lior

Praying with Lior is a one-hour documentary film that challenges our beliefs about who speaks to God. The film follows Lior Liebling, a thirteen-year-old Philadelphia boy with Down syndrome and a mind-blowing spirituality, in the four months leading up to his Bar Mitzvah.

Lior Liebling is a local celebrity. Some call him "the little rebbe." He has, according to his teachers, a very special neshama, a very special soul. Perhaps it is because he has been raised in a diverse and vibrant Jewish environment; perhaps it is because his parents are accomplished Jewish leaders; perhaps it is because, as some religions believe, the mentally handicapped are closer to God; but Lior has a gift for prayer that is legendary in his community. People come to synagogue, in part, to be inspired by Lior's unabashed love of davening (praying). Lior's upcoming Bar Mitzvah - the Jewish coming of age ceremony - has been anticipated for years, ever since he was a small child in a prayer shawl, bowing and swaying like an old, impassioned Hasid. The Bar Mitzvah comes six years after his mother, a beloved rabbi, died of breast cancer, leaving four children between the ages of four and twelve. Lior's Bar Mitzvah will be the frame through which this cinema verité film illuminates Lior's spirituality, his role in the community, and his family's journey toward healing.

Look for this documentary when it plays in your area.