“I try to enjoy my life as much as possible. When it’s not fun anymore, I’ll switch.” William Wolff is clearly having fun. The Brit is a Rabbi in the Jewish communities of Rostock, Schwerin, and Wismar and commutes between his rustic property in “Little Paddock” near London, his official residence in northern Germany, Tel Aviv, Berlin, and Brooklyn. What’s astounding is that Willy Wolff is 88 and isn’t intent on retiring and going to a nursing home. He seeks out closeness to people and people seek him out as well. A lot of them come from the former Soviet Union and that’s why Rabbi Wolff is now learning Russian. Curiosity never left him and neither did his humor. Yet life wasn’t easy for him. He fled from the Nazis to Amsterdam with his family and later to London. He decided to become a Rabbi as a child but worked as a journalist first. He spent three decades travelling around the world as a correspondent till he began his training at 53. Willy Wolff became Rabbi Wolff. Britta Wauer met him while working on her documentary IM HIMMEL, UNDER DER ERDE about the Jewish cemetery in Berlin-Weißensee. His voice shed light on Jewish life and attitude towards death. His charm and humor immediately caught the director’s attention and so she followed him for over three years as he travelled and brought a smile to people’s faces. Everyone smiles after meeting Rabbi Wolff once and it’s great that we also got to meet him due to this wonderful film.

Lars Tunçay

Translation: Elinor Lewy