A Hollywood Midrash: The Making of The Prince of Egypt
About this episode
This episode explores the significance of the film The Prince of Egypt in the context of Passover and its role as a cultural and sacred text.
Can a Hollywood blockbuster be the most important piece of Passover liturgy produced in a generation? On this episode of Identity/Crisis, Yehuda Kurtzer sits down with Rabbi Professor Burt Visotzky, Appelman Professor Emeritus of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary and a lead consultant to the makers of The Prince of Egypt. Together they examine the 1998 DreamWorks film as both cultural artifact and sacred text. They unpack the film's interpretive choices — from casting the voice of God to the rewriting of an Oscar-winning lyric — and ask why this movie has quietly entered the Jewish ritual calendar as essential Pesach viewing. Learn more about our guest here. You can now sponsor an episode of Identity/Crisis. Click HERE to learn more. JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST FOR MORE HARTMAN IDEAS Here’s more from the Shalom Hartman Institute this week: Read the newest issue of Sources and subscribe to the print edition.
People in this episode
Host: Yehuda Kurtzer
Guest: Rabbi Professor Burt Visotzky
Topics covered
- Passover
- Midrash
- The Prince of Egypt
- Jewish ritual
- film analysis
- cultural artifact
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Jewish Theological Seminary
Books & works: The Prince of Egypt
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