With a vision well ahead of her time, Henrietta Szold is one of the most influential Jewish American women of the 20th century. And yet her incredible story has never been told—until now.
Szold founded Hadassah in 1912, inspiring over a century of American Jewish women to volunteer and support essential healthcare services and education in Eretz Yisrael. As part of her expansive humanitarian work, Szold was a pioneering force behind Youth Aliyah which rescued 30,000 Jewish children from fascist Europe. Szold established core principles of providing healthcare to Jews and Arabs equally, promoting coexistence. Back home in Baltimore, Szold founded schools for immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe to teach English and citizenship, the forerunner of modern-day ESL classes. While Szold never had children, she became a maternal figurehead for generations, offering hope and dignity to those facing displacement and persecution.
Directed by Peabody- and Emmy Award-winner Abby Ginzberg (SOFT VENGEANCE, SJFF 2015)—whose own family history is entwined with Szold’s—voiced by actress Tovah Feldshuh, LABORS OF LOVE is both an intimate portrait of an unsung heroine and a stirring meditation on compassion and the power of one woman’s vision to change the course of history. Winner of the 2025 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival’s Audience Award.
Director Bio: View on IMDB
Abby Ginzberg is a Peabody Award-winning director and Emmy Silver Circle inductee who has been creating powerful documentaries on race, gender and social justice for over 35 years. Her acclaimed film BARBARA LEE: SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER won the 2022 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary and SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA screened at SJFF 2015.
Guest: Director Abby Ginzberg
Sponsor: Jacquie Bayley
Community Sponsors: Congregation Beth Shalom, Hadassah Seattle, Mary Schwartz Summit
