By the Grace of Heaven (2020)

A rare look into life in Bnei Brak, Israel amid the corona virus outbreak, which completely engulfed and paralyzed this ultra-Orthodox city, is the focus of a new feature documentary called, By the Grace of Heaven. Less than 20 minutes from Tel Aviv, the city of Bnei Brak is Israel's ninth largest, with a quarter-million residents and, in effect, the capital of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community. When the virus erupted in Bnei Brak in April 2020, a complete closure was imposed on the city. The mayor, Rabbi Avraham Rubinstein, went into solitary confinement after his wife was infected with corona virus, while setting up a dedicated emergency headquarters under the command of IDF Retired Major General, Roni Numa, who, together with other reserve officers, took control over the blockaded city. All of this happened just days before Passover, requiring the ultra-Orthodox community - with its diverse Hasidic, Lithuanian, and Sephardic sects - to immediately adapt to the realities of holiday life, in the shadow of corona virus and the subsequent city closure, isolation, and curfew. Suddenly, as only in Israel can happen, the ultra-Orthodox religious community joined forces with soldiers and army commanders to meet the challenges imposed upon them.