The Kabbalist (2)
SEVEN YEARS PASS. SEVEN YEARS OF STUDYING, SEARCHING, AND WAITING FOR AN ANSWER.
OLD BARUCH AND THE FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD YEHUDA ARE SITTING AT THE SAME TABLE, IN THE SAME POSITIONS.
YEHUDA IS READING, MOVING HIS FINGER ALONG THE LINES OF THE BOOK, BARUCH IS LISTENING AND NODDING HIS HEAD EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE.
SNOW IS FALLING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, ENGULFING BARUCH’S OLD HOUSE.
***
BLACK AND WHITE DOCUMENTARY SEQUENCES SHOW 1900 NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS. BIG CHRISTMAS TREES LINE THE STREETS OF ST. PETERSBURG, PARIS, NEW YORK, AND WARSAW. STORE WINDOWS SHINE LIKE JEWELS IN THE BIG CITIES. HAPPY PEOPLE LOADED WITH SHOPPING BAGS ARE WALKING THROUGH THE STREETS.
HOLDING EACH OTHER’S HANDS, A BOY AND A GIRL ARE SKATING ON THE ICE, LAUGHING. ABOVE THE SKATING RINK, THE NUMBER 1900 IS TWINKLING IN BRIGHT COLORS.
A NEW CENTURY IS STARTING. NOBODY KNOWS YET HOW MANY TRAGEDIES IT HOLDS.
***
AN OLD CART IS MOVING ALONG A BUMPY COUNTRY ROAD, ITS WHEELS CREAKING.
IT IS DRIZZLING.
A SKINNY HORSE BARELY MOVES, ITS FEET SINKING DEEP INTO THE AUTUMN MUD. THE COACHMAN IS ASLEEP.
FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD YEHUDA SITS BAREFOOT ON THE EDGE OF A CART, HIS HEAD COVERED WITH A TATTERED RAG. HE IS HOLDING A BOOK IN HIS HANDS. HIS WET BOOTS ARE NEXT TO HIM ON THE DIRTY STRAW.
YEHUDA RAISES HIS EYES AND SEES RAINDROPS TRICKLE DOWN THE WET LEAVES OF THE FOREST TREES. HERE AND THERE, A MUSHROOM PEEPS OUT FROM UNDER THE FOLIAGE. RIPE RASPBERRIES, HEAVY WITH RAIN DROPLETS, WEIGH DOWN THE STALKS OF RASPBERRY BUSHES.
YEHUDA SMILES. HE CONTINUES HIS RIDE, SMILING AS HE APPROACHES BARUCH'S HOUSE.
YEHUDA JUMPS OFF THE CART, PICKS UP HIS SHOES, AND RUNS TO THE HOUSE.
BARUCH IS SITTING WITH HIS BACK TO THE ENTRANCE AND DOES NOT TURN AROUND AS THE DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN.
YEHUDA WALKS UP TO THE TABLE. BARUCH STILL DOESN’T NOTICE HIM.
YEHUDA SITS AT THE TABLE FACING BARUCH. BARUCH’S EYES SEEM TO BE FOCUSING AT A POINT FAR BEHIND YEHUDA.
Yehuda (whispers): It’s me, Baruch, me.
BARUCH TOUCHES YEHUDA’S HAND.
- It’s me, Yehuda. Don’t you recognize me?
- Yehuda, - repeats Baruch.
BARUCH COMES BACK TO HIS SENSES.
- A-a-a-ah, you're here.
Yehuda (concerned): Are you well, Baruch?
Baruch (quietly): Of course. What could happen to me?
Yehuda (rising unexpectedly): You probably want to be alone.
Baruch: Sit.
YEHUDA SITS DOWN.
Baruch: Today I miss my teacher, Mendel from Kotzk. Sit, share my longing.
BARUCH QUIETLY SHAKES HIS HEAD.
- He wanted to ascend in one lifetime past all the degrees separating us from the King so as to never come back into this filthy swamp.
BARUCH SPREADS HIS HANDS.
- We believed in him. We followed him, dedicating ourselves to our Mendel, our commune, our Kotzk!
***
KOTZK [14]. EVENING.
A RAIN-BLACKENED WOODEN HOUSE. THE LIGHT OF AN OIL LAMP FLICKERS THROUGH THE WINDOW.
THE LAMP IS STANDING ON A LONG TABLE SURROUNDED BY THIN, POORLY DRESSED HASSIDIC STUDENTS WITH BURNING EYES.
ALL EYES ARE FIXED ON THEIR 40-YEAR-OLD TEACHER, MENACHEM MENDEL.
THE COLLAR OF HIS STAINED SHIRT IS TORN, HIS HAIR IS TOUSLED, BREAD CRUMBS DOT HIS DISHEVELED BEARD.
HE IS SPEAKING PASSIONATELY, JUST LIKE BARUCH, WAVING HIS HANDS.
THEY LOOK VERY SIMILAR.
Baruch’s voice: We decided to take the Creator by storm. For long, hungry evenings, we stood frozen before our teacher, and he before the Creator.
WE SEE YOUNG BARUCH BEHIND THE TABLE.
JUST LIKE THE OTHERS, HIS EYES NEVER LEAVE MENDEL.
Baruch’s voice: A bottle of vodka, three onions, a few loaves of bread, and the Creator – the Great and True One! Right here! Right next to us! See Him! Feel Him!
THE HASSIDIM [15] GRASP THEIR DIRTY GLASSES FILLED WITH A MURKY LIQUID, RAISE THEM PASSIONATELY, THEN DOWN THEIR DRINKS IN UNISON.
Baruch’s voice: We were trembling with cold and happiness, we were waiting for Him to be revealed to us. He was testing our perseverance. How long could it possibly continue?! We were holding on with our last bit of strength.
CLOSE-UPS OF THE FAMISHED, EXHAUSTED HASSIDIM.
MENDEL IS SAYING SOMETHING TO THEM, AND SUDDENLY BEGINS TO RHYTHMICALLY POUND HIS FIST ON THE TABLE.
Baruch’s voice: I remember that evening. It was so cold that birds froze solid in mid-flight. Mendel said: "We have a chance to break through. Prepare to attack."
FOLLOWING MENDEL'S RHYTHM, EVERYONE BEGAN TO POUND THEIR FISTS ON THE TABLE IN UNISON. THE BLOWS WERE LIKE A SINGLE BLOW, DRUMMING IN RHYTHM, AS ONE BEAT!
LOOKING FROM THE STREET THROUGH THE DIMLY LIT WINDOWS, WE CAN SEE THE FISTS OF THE HASSIDIM RISING AND FALLING IN UNISON. WE CAN HEAR BLOWS LIKE PEALS OF THUNDER, AND THE DILAPIDATED HOUSE SHAKES WITH EACH THUD.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
BARUCH EMPTIES THE BOTTLE IN ONE LONG GULP.
YEHUDA LOOKS ON AS BARUCH’S SCRAWNY ADAM'S APPLE JUMPS UP AND DOWN.
Baruch: He shouldn't have said those things to us, our Mendel. We failed the trial. Suddenly we became homesick. We wanted to go back to warmth, to our wives, to our snot-covered kids, to our ordinary lives devoid of great deeds and heroic attacks. We caved in. We failed by a margin of a single assault. One last push!
TEARFULLY, BARUCH RAISES HIS EYES TO YEHUDA.
HIS FACE IS TORMENTED. HE CAN BARELY SUMMON THE STRENGTH TO SPEAK:
- We failed to arrive at a single thought! One thought—that we are together, that we are a single whole. That these dirty, worn-out bodies simply do not exist, that there is just one common soul (weeping). One soul... aimed at the Creator!
BARUCH'S EYES BEGIN TO SCAN THE WALL, GOING UP TO THE CEILING, THEN DOWN, THEN BACK TO THE TABLE.
Baruch (in tears): We are standing before You pleading: "Give us strength! Help us! Accept us!"
***
THE HOUSE IN KOTZK.
EVERYONE AROUND THE TABLE IS POUNDING IT WITH PASSION.
THE TABLE ROCKS WITH THE BLOWS.
SUDDENLY THE TABLE’S LEGS CAVE IN AND IT COLLAPSES TO ONE SIDE, TAKING DOWN THE HASSIDIM WITH IT.
THE HOUSE TURNS SILENT.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
PAUSE. SILENCE.
YEHUDA WATCHES BARUCH, MESMERIZED.
BARUCH SHAKES HIS HEAD FROM SIDE TO SIDE.
-We failed. We did. (Closes his eyes) Ohhh, if only you could hear how Mendel mocked us! How he teased us!
***
KOTZK.
MENDEL IS TOWERING ABOVE EVERYONE.
HE LAUGHS, POINTING HIS FINGER AT THEM.
Baruch’s voice: He told us: "You are nobodies, unfit for His revelation. Leave, go back to your homes, hide under your wives' skirts, wipe the snot off your children’s noses, forget about eternity. For you, there is no eternity.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
BARUCH IS WEEPING LOUDLY, PAYING NO ATTENTION TO YEHUDA.
A MINUTE PASSES.
HE WIPES OFF THE TEARS, SMEARING DIRT OVER HIS FACE.
Baruch: Our great teacher, Mehachem Mendel, disappeared behind the locked door of his room. He stayed in it for twenty years.
***
KOTZK.
MENDEL TURNS ON HIS HEELS SHARPLY AND WALKS TO HIS ROOM.
EVERYBODY STARES AT HIS SUDDENLY STOOPING BACK. HE DISAPPEARS BEHIND HIS DOOR AND SLAMS IT SHUT.
Baruch’s voice: His attack was triumphant. Ours wasn’t.
KOTZK.
THE LIGHT WAVERS IN AN OIL LAMP.
IT GOES OFF.
COMPLETE DARKNESS FALLS.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
IT’S GETTING DARK. BARUCH PUTS HIS HAND OVER YEHUDA'S HAND AND SAYS IN A SURPRISINGLY SOFT TONE:
- There are guards watching the path to Him, Yehudale. They force back all those who approach His palace. They beat you with their sticks until you bleed. But you must keep on walking! This is how He tests you, how He can tell if you really want, more than anything else in the world, to meet Him or if you have simply taken a wrong turn somewhere. Have you burned all the bridges behind you or not? If you really desire it, if you truly burned them all, they will let you through. But if you haven’t, you are better off not setting foot on this path.
Yehuda: Why are you telling me all this?
Baruch: I have a feeling that soon you will find the story helpful.
Yehuda: I’ve burned my bridges. Nothing in this life interests me. Only Him.
SUDDENLY YEHUDA FREEZES.
HE IS SITTING UPRIGHT, LOOKING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARDED WINDOW.
THEN HE SUDDENLY STANDS UP AND WALKS UP TO THE WALL.
HE SEES THE CRUDE BOARDS THAT MAKE UP THE WALL, A RUSTY HEAD OF A NAIL.
YEHUDA IS STANDING WITH HIS BACK TO BARUCH.
BARUCH'S VOICE COMES FROM BEHIND HIM, CALM, SOBER, AND EVEN:
- I believe that it can happen any time.
YEHUDA IS SILENT. HE STARES AT THE WALL. HIS BREATH DISTURBS THE COBWEB HANGING FROM THE BOARDS.
Baruch: You will be great, Yehuda. Yehuda Leib Ashlag.
YEHUDA REMAINS SILENT.
Baruch: It's Him. Don't be afraid.
YEHUDA IS SILENT.
Baruch: This field has five circles. His entire thought is contained here.
YEHUDA CLOSES HIS EYES.
BARUCH WALKS UP TO HIM.
Baruch: Can you hear me?
YEHUDA STARTS TO WALK SLOWLY ALONG THE WALL.
Baruch: Not a thought about yourself, you hear me?! Not a thought.
YEHUDA IS WALKING ALONG THE WALL.
BARUCH IS FOLLOWING HIM.
- Get ready, - (Baruch whispers.) You are on your way to Him. He is holding your hand. He's guiding you. You are leaving your body [16].
SUDDENLY THE WALL DISAPPEARS.
BARUCH’S VOICE RECEDES INTO THE DISTANCE.
- It’s all within you, my son ... within you! [17]
***
A BURST OF LIGHT.
YEHUDA SEES A WHITE, ENDLESS SPACE.
SILHOUETTES OF TREES BEGIN TO APPEAR, AS IF OUT OF A FOG.
A GARDEN [18] IN BLOOM SPREADS OUT INTO INFINITY.
Baruch’s voice: What, what do you feel?
Yehuda’s voice: Peace.
Baruch’s voice: It's Him, Yehuda.
Yehuda’s voice: Warmth.
Baruch’s voice: It's Him, Yehuda, it's Him.
Yehuda’s voice: I feel… love.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
YEHUDA IS WALKING ALONG THE WALL.
BARUCH IS WATCHING HIM.
SUDDENLY HE BEGINS TO SING A MELODY.
THEN STOPS, AS IF TESTING YEHUDA.
HE IS WAITING.
YEHUDA PICKS UP THE MELODY.
HIS VOICE IS DEEP AND SENSUOUS.
Baruch (excited): Yehuda…
YEHUDA IS STILL THERE, IN THE SAME SENSATION. HE CONTINUES TO SING. HE DOES NOT HEAR BARUCH.
***
A GARDEN IN BLOOM.
A VALLEY FILLED WITH TRANSLUCENT AIR.
A GENTLE TUNE IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND.
- I feel so good, - utters Yehuda.
IMMEDIATELY, HIS HEART CLENCHES WITH FEAR.
IT’S AS IF A SNAKE IS APPROACHING.
THE WIND BLOWS HIGH, BENDING THE TREE TOPS.
SUDDENLY THE HEAD OF A GIANT SNAKE [19] APPEARS IN THE GRASS.
- What are you thinking about?! – Baruch’s voice can be heard.
THE SNAKE SLITHERS FAST TOWARD YEHUDA.
- What are you thinking about?! – Baruch’s voice becomes louder.
TWO RED EYES ARE STARING AT YEHUDA.
THE SNAKE’S FORKED TONGUE LASHES FORWARD.
IT SWIFTLY CLOSES THE DISTANCE TO YEHUDA.
- What are you thinking about?! – (Baruch screams) Anything but yourself!
THE SNAKE APPROACHES SWIFTLY.
ONLY A FEW FEET SEPARATE THEM… NOW A FEW INCHES.
IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO PREVENT THE STRIKE.
THE SNAKE’S POISONOUS TONGUE IS ABOUT TO TOUCH YEHUDA’S FACE…
***
FOR A MOMENT, WE ARE BACK IN BARUCH’S HOUSE.
BARUCH SEES YEHUDA BURYING HIS FACE IN HIS PALMS.
***
THE SNAKE ROCKETS PAST YEHUDA WITHOUT SLOWING DOWN.
ITS HEAD SMASHES INTO A TREE, BREAKING UP INTO NUMEROUS SMALL BLACK SNAKES THAT VANISH IN THE GRASS.
***
BARUCH'S HOUSE.
YEHUDA IS SILENT.
- This was the boundary. – (Baruch’s voice is calm and even.) You were afraid, but you didn’t run away. Good for you, Yehuda!
YEHUDA LEANS AGAINST THE WALL TO AVOID FALLING DOWN.
Baruch: It took me years to do what you did. But you He marked from the beginning.
Yehuda (he is still there): This is indescribable.
Baruch: There is no need to.
YEHUDA TURNS HIS FACE TO BARUCH.
Baruch: You needn’t tell this to anyone.
YEHUDA MOVES TOWARDS BARUCH.
- I felt Him… the way I feel you.
BARUCH IS SILENT FOR A MOMENT.
HE SEES YEHUDA’S EYES FULL OF YEARNING AND DELIGHT.
Baruch (quietly): Well, I told you, son! You see!
ALL OF A SUDDEN, BARUCH’S EYES WELL UP WITH TEARS.
Baruch: It was Him, son!
Yehuda: He engulfed me, like a mother engulfs her baby.
BARUCH IS CRYING, COMPLETELY UNASHAMED OF HIS TEARS. HE IS CRYING WITHOUT WIPING THEM AWAY, AND REPEATS IN ADMIRATION:
- Yes, yes! He is like that, Yehuda. He is like that!
- I was engulfed with His love! – exclaims Yehuda.
- Engulfed! – repeats Baruch still with tears in his eyes. Precisely, son! Engulfed with love! Because He is Love, son! He is all the Good there is. He gives everything to us and wants nothing in return.
SUDDENLY YEHUDA STARTS CRYING ALONG WITH BARUCH. HE SMEARS HIS TEARS ALL OVER HIS FACE, ATTEMPTS TO SAY SOMETHING, BUT CAN’T.
HE MUMBLES AND SUDDENLY MOANS:
- But w……h……y! Why did I leave Him? Whyyy?
***
A BLACK FLASH.
THE SNAKE’S HEAD APPEARS IN THE GRASS.
THE SNAKES HURTLES TOWARD YEHUDA.
Baruch’s voice: You thought of yourself.
- But why, why did I think of myself?!
- You couldn’t have done otherwise, calm down.
- But why, why! I knew that I shouldn’t!
BARUCH CAREFULLY PLACES HIS HAND ON YEHUDA’S BONY SHOULDER.
- Who told you it was easy - to peek into yourself? – he asks.
- But… He let me pass. - Yehuda mumbles.
- He tested you.
YEHUDA RAISES HIS EYES TO LOOK AT BARUCH.
- And did I pass the test?!
- You did!
- But He… disappeared.
- No, He is with you. He is always with you. You are the one who stopped feeling Him. He is here. Constantly…
YEHUDA LOOKS AROUND.
- Where is He?
Baruch: Here.
Yehuda: Where? Why can’t I feel Him? Why?!
Baruch: You will continue to work on yourself. And one day He will not disappear. It’s because you will become like Him.
BARUCH GLANCES AT YEHUDA’S FACE:
- Bestowing and Loving. You really want it, don’t you?
Yehuda (exhales): Very much!
Baruch: And you won’t back down?
Yehuda: Not a single step!
BARUCH IS SILENT. HE SHAKES HIS HEAD.
- You’re going to be great, Yehuda - he finally utters – I can see it. But always remember your own conclusion, it is very precise: You are always engulfed in His love like an embryo in its mother. Do you hear me?
Yehuda: Yes, I do.
Baruch: An embryo does not think of itself. Do the same. Not thinking of yourself, son – this is the main thing!
BARUCH STARES AT YEHUDA.
AND SUDDENLY SIGHS LOUDLY:
- Oh, how I would love a drink right now! Oh, I would get drunk. I would dance for you, I would sing!
Yehuda: What tune were you humming? I heard a tune. And I knew it.
Baruch: Oh, it’s a great melody, “Mordechai Yosef” [20]. Starving and freezing, we used to sing it in Kotzk.
YEHUDA TRIES TO RECALL IT BUT FAILS.
Yehuda: I knew it, but now I forgot.
BARUCH STARTS TO SING AND YEHUDA TENTATIVELY JOINS IN.
NOW BOTH THEIR VOICES SOAR IN A DUET ABOVE THE VILLAGE, ABOVE THE FOREST, ABOVE THE COUNTRY ROAD, ABOVE YEHUDA, WALKING ALONG THE EDGE OF THE FOREST, ABOVE WARSAW, ABOVE THE JEWISH QUARTER.
***
WARSAW. THE JEWISH QUARTER. – DAY.
MANY FACES OF PEOPLE ON THE STREET, WALKING ON THE RAIN-DRENCHED SIDEWALK.
OLDER AND MORE WRINKLED, THE MAD VIOLINIST IS STILL PLAYING HIS SINGLE-STRINGED INSTRUMENT.
THE SAME SHOPKEEPER IS SELLING SAUSAGES, LAZILY FENDING OFF THE FLIES…
NOTHING CHANGES IN THE JEWISH QUARTER.
NOTHING FORETELLS THE COMING TROUBLE.
YEHUDA APPEARS FROM AROUND THE CORNER.
HE IS WALKING, LOOKING DOWN, YET NOT SEEING THAT HE IS STEPPING IN PUDDLES AND MUD.
HE HEARS THE SAME MELODY, BUT IT CEASES.
YEHUDA TURNS TO A SIDE STREET.
SUDDENLY SOMEONE’S HAND STOPS HIM.
YEHUDA LOOKS UP.
A YOUNG, SECULAR GUY IS STANDING IN FRONT OF HIM.
- Do you recognize me? – he asks.
Yehuda (looking closely): Yankele?
Yankele: In the flesh. But not Yankele, no, Yan. Yan Terletsky – a free citizen of the Great Poland, liberated from any religion.
Yehuda (smiling): Hello there, free citizen of Poland.
Yan: I recognize you, still smart, still sarcastic (examines Yehuda). Just the kind we need… (embracing Yehuda's shoulders) Yehuda, I’m asking for an hour of your time.
Yehuda (hastily): I don't have it. I need to write something down. Urgently!
Yan: Half an hour, then.
Yehuda: I am sorry; I have to go.
HE IS TRYING TO LEAVE, BUT YAN BLOCKS HIS WAY.
Yan: Even for the sake of an old friendship?
Yehuda: Even for the sake of friendship.
Yan (gently holding Yehuda with his hand): Then I will tell you quickly and simply. We, the social democratic party of Poland, invite you to join us. Equality of all people on Earth is our principle!
SUDDENLY YEHUDA LOOKS AT YAN WITH INTEREST.
Yan: We are a party of young, passionate people. There are neither Jews nor Poles among us. We are united above any narrow national interests by the great purpose of uniting the world. What do you think?
Yehuda: It is an exalted idea.
Yan: I knew you would say that. I've always felt you very close.
Yehuda (suddenly getting excited): This is a great idea because it stems from a great root, Yankele.
Yan: Of course! Love and equality will unite us all! (Happily.) I knew you would be with us! I am so happy! (He hugs Yehuda.)
Yehuda: It's precisely because the Creator, Yankele, is equality and freedom!
Yan (brusquely): Let's leave this subject aside.
Yehuda (even more excitedly): But this is truly so, Yankele. Trust me! And it's the most important thing of all!
Yan: This is the least important thing! (Raising his voice.) Leave all your fantasies behind. He – your God – is just an invention, the psychological trickery of our crafty ancestors! Everything is in the hands of man, Yehuda. There is no God!
Yehuda: Yan, listen to me…
Yan: No, you listen to me. You know why I came to you? Because I remembered the moment when that rogue thought came to my mind. You provoked it! Do you remember how you asked the teacher in the classroom: “Where is He?” Do you remember when you said: “If I can't feel Him, it means that He does not exist.” Do you?
Yehuda: Yes, I do. We really do need to feel Him, and it can be done. It can and must be done!
Yan: Wait, let me finish. It was you who crushed my tiny Jewish world. I'm grateful to you for that. That's precisely why I came to you with this proposal to join us.
Yehuda: But listen…!
Yan: That’s it. I don’t want to hear it. Are you with us or not?
YEHUDA IS SILENT.
Yan: Say something. I’m waiting for an answer.
Yehuda: You will fail.
Yan: So you say.
Yehuda: Without the Creator, Yankele, it cannot work.
Yan (pauses, sighs, looks at Yehuda): It's a shame. Such a shame. I thought that you would understand. (Resolutely) I'm sorry, now it's me who has to go.
YAN TURNS SHARPLY AND BEGINS TO WALK AWAY.
YEHUDA IS LOOKING AT HIM.
SUDDENLY HE STARTS TO RUN AFTER HIM, CATCHES UP WITH HIM, AND TRIES TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING TO HIM, BUT WE CAN'T MAKE OUT HIS WORDS.
YEHUDA IS WAVING HIS HANDS, TALKING PASSIONATELY.
YAN KEEPS ON WALKING RESOLUTELY TOWARD THE MAIN STREET.
YEHUDA LAGS BEHIND.
YAN DISSOLVES IN THE BUSTLING CROWD.
***
YEHUDA’S ROOM. NIGHT.
A CANDLE IS BURNING ON THE TABLE.
YEHUDA IS SITTING IN FRONT OF AN OPEN BOOK.
HE GETS UP AND APPROACHES THE WINDOW.
A FEW LIT WINDOWS ARE SCATTERED IN THE DARK.
YEHUDA'S FATHER QUIETLY COMES IN, SITS DOWN IN THE CORNER.
Simcha: Do you mind?
YEHUDA TURNS AROUND TO FACE HIM.
Simcha: You have grown up, Yehuda, especially in the last few weeks.
YEHUDA LOOKS AT HIS FATHER WITHOUT RESPONDING, WALKS UP TO HIS DESK, SITS DOWN, AND STARTS TO WRITE SOMETHING BRISKLY.
Simcha: That's it, Yehuda. You have grown and became more distant from us. Do you hear me, Yehuda?
Yehuda (continues to write): I'm sorry, Father, I don't have much time.
Simcha: Yehuda, we’re still your family, and I wanted to tell you…
Yehuda (quickly raising his head): Father, you can't even imagine how unimportant is everything that you are going to say. Every moment of this night can save or destroy many lives.
Simcha: Rabbi Feldman warned us that this would happen. You stopped being our son. You stopped being a Jew.
YEHUDA RELUCTANTLY STOPS WRITING AND TURNS TO FACE HIS FATHER.
Yehuda: To the Creator we are all equal.
Simcha: I won't let you go to your Baruch tomorrow.
Yehuda: There is nothing you can do now, Father.
SIMCHA RISES FATEFULLY AND LEAVES THE ROOM.
THE DOOR SLAMS.
THE THIN PLYWOOD PARTITION IS SHAKING.
YEHUDA FOLLOWS HIM WITH HIS EYES.
***
ALL OF A SUDDEN HE FINDS HIMSELF IN THE BLOOMING GARDEN.
JUST FOR ONE MOMENT. FOR ONE BRIEF INSTANT HE CAN HEAR BARUCH’S QUIET VOICE.
- It’s within you, this garden! Do you realize it, son? It is the garden of your desires.
BRANCHES ARE SWAYING. FLOWER PETALS FLUTTER.
- And they are all striving for the Creator.
YEHUDA IS ENVELOPED WITH PEACE.
HE HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.
***
YEHUDA IS SITTING IN HIS ROOM, THE OIL LAMP IS FLICKERING, THE BOOK IS OPEN IN FRONT OF HIM, AND THE EVENING LIGHT IS PENETRATING THE OPEN WINDOW.
***
MORNING.
YEHUDA WALKS UP THE COUNTRY ROAD LEADING TO BARUCH'S HOUSE.
YEHUDA SEES HIS TEACHER SITTING ALONE ON THE DOORSTEP OF HIS HOUSE.
BARUCH SQUINTS AT THE RISING SUN, HE LOOKS OLDER AND SOMEHOW MORE PEACEFUL.
YEHUDA TAKES A SEAT NEXT TO HIM.
- Why don't you ever come outside into the light?
- You call this light? - Baruch answers. - What kind of light is that? The light for us is the night, when all the fools of this world are asleep and no one disturbs you when you are thinking about the Light. That’s when the Light comes out.
BARUCH TRIES TO STAND UP BUT CAN'T.
HIS SKINNY LEGS QUIVER UNDER HIS WEIGHT.
Baruch: Still, it's better inside my den, after all. Give me a hand.
YEHUDA CAREFULLY HELPS BARUCH, PROPPING HIM UNDER HIS ARM.
INSTEAD OF GOING INSIDE, THEY WALK SLOWLY TOWARD THE FOREST.
THEY WALK UNDER TALL, ARCHING PINE TREES AND HEAVY SILENCE ENGULFS THEM. IT IS FILLED WITH NOTHING BUT THE LOW RUSTLE OF GRASS, THE GREETING TRILL OF A BIRD, A LITTLE BEETLE CLIMBING UP A BLADE OF GRASS. A TINY FLEA IS HANGING BY A DROP OF MORNING DEW, A MUSHROOM IS POPPING ITS HEAD FROM UNDER THE FALLEN PINE NEEDLES.
Baruch (looking around and sighing): I wish I could live like them, without hatred.
Yehuda: It's good here.
Baruch (unexpectedly sharply): What did you say?! Good?! It's good when you feel bad! Only then you scream to Him! When you feel good, you don't need the Creator.
Yehuda (reflectively): How can I explain that to those who feel bad? That bad is good?
Baruch: You can’t. They will think that you are mad.
Yehuda: How do you explain that we feel bad only because we’ve lost the connection with the Creator?
Baruch (scornfully): What? What did you say?! You want to explain this to them, to those two-legged beasts?! They won’t even hear you (taps his ear). They don’t have anything to hear you with! They live according to a different law! Their law – the human one – is to seize! And you’re telling them about some Creator, about His law?! To give? No. Noooo, Yehuda. Only blows will teach them that they have to live differently. One cannot avoid the suffering, Yehuda.
Yehuda: Yes, you can.
Baruch: And I say, “You can't!”
Yehuda: And I say, “Yes, you can!”
Baruch (louder): And I say, “You can't!”
Yehuda (even louder): And I say, “You can!” You can do without the suffering. You can! We can explain to them that He is waiting for us there, in dizzying happiness; that He is leading us to pure happiness. Yes, we can!
BARUCH DOESN’T ANSWER. HE LOOKS AT YEHUDA WEARILY.
Yehuda: Listen (pacing back and forth in front of Baruch), we can explain to them, quite simply, that there is only one force in the world, one law – His law – love of others, that this is the greatest fortune we can obtain, that a great evil – the human ego - stands in the way to this fortune, provoking all misfortunes, and that it can be corrected, bringing all misfortunes to an end.
Baruch(wearily): They won't listen! All my attempts…
Yehuda (stops in front of him): We should try again and again.
Baruch: They can’t hear.
BARUCH IS ROCKING BACK AND FORTH ON HIS THIN, OLD LEGS SHAKING HIS BIG HEAD:
- He doesn't care about the bodies, Yehuda! Don't you get it?! The Creator converses with the soul, and onlywith the soul. He couldn’t care less about your body and its vain desires. You want to be a great rabbi, know the Torah by heart, become famous, make money, gorge yourself on rich foods, and sleep well! We live for our sake, whereas He lives for the sake of everybody else. We love only ourselves, and He – only others. (Wearily and painfully) Doyou understand that there is no connection between us (Throws up his arms), none whatsoever?
Yehuda: When will it appear, this connection?! It does appear, doesn’t it?
Baruch (very quietly, very wearily): When we realize that it does not and cannot exist. It is then that it appears.
BARUCH SIGHS AND SPREADS HIS ARMS.
- When we become desperate, when we flood our hearts with tears and plead, truly plead for this connection to materialize (squirms) – at least for a tiny bit, at least for a split second - when we plead with all the strength that we have left because without it there is nothing to live for.
BARUCH PAUSES, COMPLETELY WORN OUT, AND LOOKS AT YEHUDA.
- It is then that a prayer emerges - (sighs) from the bottom of the heart. In response to this prayer the gates of tears open and you begin to feel Him. Then, finally, you understand the meaning of it all. And you cry and cry, but this time they are tears of joy. And everything falls beautifully into place.
Yehuda (beaming with exhilaration): This is what I will tell them! And they will understand. I know they will. I am sure. After all, nobody likes to suffer.
BARUCH IS LOOKING AT YEHUDA. SUDDENLY, HIS LEGS BUCKLE UNDER HIM BUT YEHUDA MANAGES TO CATCH HIM AND BARUCH WEARILY DESCENDS ONTO A TREE STUMP.
Yehuda (frightened): Are you okay? Should I take you home?
Baruch: No. I feel good.
YEHUDA SQUATS NEXT TO BARUCH. HE STROKES BARUCH’S BACK AS IF HE WERE A CHILD.
Baruch: Yehuda…
Yehuda: Yes, Baruch.
Baruch: I will agree on one condition. (Watches him attentively) If you tell me now that you have spoken with Him about it. Have you?
Yehuda: Yes, I have.
Baruch (lights up with a sudden smile): And He gave you His blessing?
Yehuda: Yes. Tonight.
THE SECOND YEHUDA UTTERS THESE WORDS, HE FEELS THE BLOSSOMING GARDEN AGAIN.
THE GARDEN EXTENDS FAR INTO THE HORIZON TO THE DISTANT HILLS.
- Here He is! – Yehuda whispers.
HE IS STANDING STILL, AFRAID TO MOVE.
- Do you remember the rule? – he suddenly hears Baruch’s voice.
- Yes, – he whispers in response.
- Good for you! – the old man’s voice is calm. – No one here thinks of themselves.
- Neither do I.
A RAY OF LIGHT PLAYS ON THE TRUNK OF A HUGE TREE [21] TO YEHUDA’S RIGHT.
SOMETHING ATTRACTS YEHUDA’S ATTENTION. HE GAZES ATTENTIVELY AT THE FOLIAGE.
- Don’t… - Baruch’s voice comes.
BUT YEHUDA HAS ALREADY TAKEN A STEP TOWARD THE TREE.
- Yehuda…
SOMETHING AMONG THE LEAVES GLITTERS AND CATCHES HIS ATTENTION. HE REACHES WITH HIS HAND TO TOUCH THE TREE TRUNK.
- You are not listening to me, son.
YEHUDA PLACES ONE FOOT ON THE LOWER BRANCH OF THE TREE.
- There is nothing I can do. – Baruch’s voice comes from far away. – Evidently, you have to go through it all by yourself. Yourself.
THE WIND GLIDES ABOVE THE GRASS, BENDING ITS BLADES DOWN. YEHUDA CLIMBS UP THE TREE USING ITS BRANCHES AS A LADDER.
THE WIND BLOWS HARDER. YEHUDA TRIES TO REACH THE GLITTERING OBJECT HIDDEN IN THE FOLIAGE.
THE WIND TURNS INTO A STORM. THE BIRDS TAKE OFF ABRUPTLY. CLOUDS RAPIDLY COVER THE SKY.
YEHUDA, UNABLE TO HOLD ON TO THE BRANCH, FALLS DOWN ONTO THE GRASS.
A FLASH OF LIGHT.
YEHUDA IS RUNNING IN A FIELD.
THE ROAR OF THE GALE AND OF APPROACHING WATER IS COMING FROM BEHIND.
YEHUDA TURNS HIS HEAD BACK, STILL RUNNING, AND SEES COLUMNS OF WATER SWEEPING THE FLOURISHING GARDEN AWAY.
HE NOTICES A CRACK BETWEEN TWO ROCKS UP AHEAD.
THE RAIN TURNS INTO A FULL-BLOWN DELUGE [22].
***
A FOREST NEAR BARUCH’S HOUSE.
YEHUDA IS WALKING QUICKLY IN CIRCLES AMONG THE PINE TREES.
NOW HE IS RUNNING.
BARUCH IS WATCHING HIM CLOSELY.
- Hold on, son! Hold on! - he repeats.
A FLASH OF LIGHT!
THE SWELL OF WATER UPROOTS THE ANCIENT TREE THAT WAS STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN. IT THROWS IT SPINNING INTO THE AIR AND TOSSES IT AFTER YEHUDA.
AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT YEHUDA LEAPS HEAD FIRST INTO THE NARROW BURROW BETWEEN THE ROCKS.
HE HEARS BARUCH’S VOICE TREMBLING WITH EXHILARATION.
- You are being born!
THE WAVE COMES CRASHING ONTO THE ROCKS AND INTO THE TUNNEL, PICKING YEHUDA UP AND CARRYING HIM AHEAD. THE POWERFUL CURRENT LIFTS HIM UP, TURNING HIM UPSIDE DOWN, AND SLAMS HIM AGAINST THE STONES AS IT CARRIES HIM FORWARD.
***
BACK IN THE FOREST.
YEHUDA IS RUNNING ACROSS THE FOREST, CARESSING TREE TRUNKS WITH THE TIPS OF HIS FINGERS.
BARUCH WATCHES HIM AND CONTINUES TO WHISPER TO HIMSELF:
- You are being born, son, you are being born.
***
A FLASH OF LIGHT.
YEHUDA GOES UNDERWATER.
A TREE TRUNK RUSHES TOWARD HIM, ITS POINTY TOP AIMED AT YEHUDA.
YEHUDA CLOSES HIS EYES IN TERROR.
THE TREE TIPS OVER, REVEALING A BLACK HOLLOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRUNK, WIDE ENOUGH TO FIT A TALL MAN.
IT SWALLOWS YEHUDA.
***
THE FOREST.
YEHUDA SUDDENLY STOPS RUNNING. HE IS MOTIONLESS.
BARUCH RAISES HIS HAND, BUT HE IS UNABLE TO UTTER A WORD.
***
A FLASH OF LIGHT!
ANOTHER TREE EMERGES IN THE VORTEX OF WATER. ITS TOP WEDGES INTO THE CAVERNOUS HOLLOW IN THE FIRST TREE TRUNK, SEALING IT SHUT.
SILENCE FALLS. DARKNESS.
***
THE FOREST.
YEHUDA IS STANDING, HIS FACE BURIED IN THE HOLLOW OF AN ANCIENT OAK.
A SQUIRREL, FURTHER UP THE TRUNK, IS LOOKING OUT OF ITS HOLE.
BARUCH IS BY YEHUDA’S SIDE. HE PATS HIM ON THE BACK AS IF HE IS A LITTLE CHILD.
BOTH ARE SILENT FOR A LONG TIME.
YEHUDA CANNOT COME BACK TO HIS SENSES.
- I know, son, you can do it! – Baruch finally says with a calm voice.
- I will try,- answers Yehuda.
- You won’t try, you will make it!
BARUCH LOOKS INTO YEHUDA’S EYES.
YEHUDA IS STILL HEAVY WITH EMOTION FROM THE EXPERIENCE.
- You will fall and rise [23] again, it’s part of the process. It is necessary! – says Baruch. – There can be no light [24] without darkness; no day without a night.
- I understand. But it’s very hard, - answers Yehuda.
- The first stage is over. It is the most important stage. –Baruch says. - Now, begins the process of cleansing your dirt [25]. You understand that it is absolutely necessary, son.
- Yes.
- You realize that you can’t live for yourself, son, when He “lives” only for everyone else.
BARUCH SMILES AND LOOKS INTO YEHUDA’S EYES.
- Living for yourself is so filthy.
- I understand, Baruch, – answers Yehuda. – I do.
- We have to purify ourselves of it, son.
Yehuda (sighs): If I could only… rip it out of myself all at once!
Baruch: You can’t do it all at once. The sunrise doesn’t happen immediately, but bit by bit. You will make it.
Yehuda: And how long will it…
Baruch: Take? Until you are like Him. He doesn’t think of Himself. You already know it. And you will be the same. You will make it, son, you will!
Yehuda (resolutely): I will make it, Baruch.
BARUCH SMILES.
- Well done! Don’t dare say anything else! Thousands upon thousands of the greatest, the greatest sages, Yehuda, are watching you with love and hope. They were willing to be torn to pieces, cut into bits, only to feel what you have felt! And He chose you and not them. Go to Him, son, go, yearn, pray, break, scream, just don’t stop!
Yehuda: I am going to Him, Baruch. I am flying to Him.
***
A FLASH OF LIGHT.
THE WATER IS GUSHING ON, TOSSING THE SEALED TRUNK OF THE GIANT TREE LIKE A MONSTER TOOTHPICK, WITH YEHUDA INSIDE.
- You've entered the Ark [26]. (Baruch’s voice is heard through the roar of water) The Ark that is inside of you!
ANOTHER TREE TRUNK, PERPENDICULARLY WEDGED INTO THE HOLLOW LIKE A MAST, RUSHES ALONG IN THE NARROW RAVINE.
- Hold on, son! Keep us in your thoughts, all of us.
***
AND AGAIN THE FOREST RUSTLES. GRASS SWAYS IN THE LIGHT BREEZE.
BARUCH IS SILENT, HE SQUINTS AS HE LOOKS AWAY FROM YEHUDA INTO THE THICKET. HE GAZES AT A BEE FLYING FROM FLOWER TO FLOWER.
Baruch: It’s so peaceful here, clean. You should look for another teacher, Yehuda.
YEHUDA LOOKS UP AT HIM. HE DOES NOT ANSWER.
Baruch: I have nothing more to teach you. Your soul will guide you from here on.
Yehuda: Where will I find another teacher?
Baruch: Keep looking. Ask. If you ask, it will be revealed to you. The Creator will not leave you now. He has some big plans for you. New times are coming, not suited for old timers like me.
Yehuda: Should I take you home?
Baruch: No, I will sit here on this stump, and listen to the silence. I might learn a thing or two.
YEHUDA STANDS UP.
Yehuda: I have to go.
Baruch: Go.
YEHUDA TURNS AROUND AND STARTS QUICKLY DOWN THE ROAD.
BARUCH FOLLOWS HIM WITH HIS GAZE, AS HE CALLS HIS NAME.
- Yehuda!...
YEHUDA CAN’T HEAR HIM.
Baruch: Don't come back here anymore, Yehuda! You mustn’t return here.
YEHUDA INCREASES HIS PACE, ALMOST RUNS.
- But I will be waiting for you, Baruch whispers, my great student… and teacher.
***
WARSAW. MAIN STREET.
YEHUDA IS WALKING QUICKLY, BARELY MINDING HIS STEPS. IMMERSED IN HIS THOUGHTS, HE IS RESPONDING TO NOTHING AND NO ONE.
***
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE:
CHRONICLE OF THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
A MAJESTIC COSTUME BALL AT THE WINTER PALACE IN ST. PETERSBURG.
THE FIRST TOUR DE FRANCE RACE.
AMERICA ACKNOWLEDGES THE INDEPENDENCE OF PANAMA.
FIRST COMMUNIST DEMONSTRATIONS IN POLAND.
THE WRIGHT BROTHERS MAKE THEIR FIRST FLIGHT.
CARS ARE THE NEW “IT” THING.
***
WARSAW. MAIN STREET.
A GROWING HUM OF A CROWD IS NEARING FROM SOMEWHERE.
YEHUDA LOOKS UP.
HE FINDS HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD; A CROWD IS MARCHING TOWARD HIM.
RED FLAGS ARE WAVING OVER PEOPLE’S HEADS. THE INTERNATIONAL (COMMUNIST ANTHEM) IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND.
YEHUDA FINDS HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CROWD, WALKING WITH THEM IN THE FRONT ROWS.
FLAGS FLY ABOVE HIS HEAD.
YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN ARE MARCHING NEXT TO HIM.
SOMEONE GRABS HIM BY THE ELBOW.
YAN'S FACE APPEARS FROM THE CROWD.
Yan (shouting over the crowd): I knew you wouldn't sit on the sidelines.
SOMEONE PUSHES THE RED FLAG INTO YEHUDA'S HAND.
The crowd: Brotherhood! Equality! Freedom!
YEHUDA BEGINS TO SHOUT ALONG WITH THEM.
PEOPLE ON THE SIDEWALKS ARE STARING WITH AMAZEMENT AT AN ORTHODOX RELIGIOUS JEW CARRYING A RED FLAG, SHOUTING COMMUNIST SLOGANS TOGETHER WITH EVERYONE.
A PRETTY WOMAN TAKES YEHUDA'S HAND, YAN IS HOLDING HIS OTHER HAND. YEHUDA IS SMILING.
EVERYONE'S FACES ARE LIT UP WITH HAPPINESS AND INSPIRATION.
SUDDENLY A UNIT DETACHMENT OF MOUNTED POLICE ATTACKS THE CROWD FROM TWO SIDE STREETS.
The police: Shut up, scum!
THE BATON-WIELDING POLICEMEN CHARGE THE CROWD, THEIR BATONS DESCENDING ON PEOPLE’S HEADS.
THE CROWD STIRS, THEN COLLAPSES.
The crowd: What are you doing, you sons of bitches!
PEOPLE FALL ON THE PAVEMENT, HOLDING THEIR HEADS, BLOOD TRICKLING BETWEEN THEIR FINGERS.
A BATON RISES ABOVE YEHUDA.
A DISTORTED FACE OF A POLICEMAN:
- Aaaah, you dirty Jew, so you want equality?!
IMMEDIATELY A STRONG ARM PUSHES THE POLICEMAN AWAY, GRABS THE LAPELS OF YEHUDA'S COAT, AND THROWS HIM ASIDE.
YEHUDA IS PRESSED AGAINST THE WALL OF THE HOUSE.
YAN IS STANDING NEXT TO HIM.
HE PUSHES YEHUDA INTO A DOORWAY.
Yan: Are you alive?! Then call to your God!
THROUGH THE HALF-OPEN DOOR WE CAN SEE PEOPLE RUNNING.
POLICEMEN ARE CHASING THEM ON HORSEBACK, HITTING THEM WITH THEIR BATONS.
Yan: There is no one to call, hah?! No one! Because He can’t exist! Just look what He, your God, is doing!
YEHUDA TRIES TO SAY SOMETHING, BUT YAN JUMPS AT HIM, PRESSING HIS HAND AGAINST YEHUDA'S MOUTH, STIFLING HIS WORDS.
Yan: He doesn’t exist! He doesn’t! And if He does exist, no one needs such a God because He is covered with our blood!
TWO POLICEMEN ARE CLOBBERING A YOUNG BOY.
THE BOY IS SOBBING:
- I won't do it anymore. I won't…
ANOTHER POLICEMAN IS DRAGGING THE PRETTY GIRL WHO MARCHED AT YEHUDA'S SIDE BY THE HAIR.
Yan (whispering): You won’t be able to explain this to me, you won’t!
HE TEARS AWAY YEHUDA'S HAT AND THROWS IT ON THE GROUND.
THEN HE RUNS OUT INTO THE STREET, HURLS HIMSELF IN FRONT OF THE POLICEMAN’S HORSE, JUMPS UP, AND DRAGS
THE POLICEMAN DOWN BY HIS JACKET. HE GRABS THE WOMAN'S HAND AND RUNS WITH HER, DISAPPEARING AROUND THE CORNER.
***
EVENING. THE JEWISH QUARTER IN WARSAW.
AN ELDERLY COUPLE WALKS PAST YEHUDA, WHO IS SITTING ON THE STEPS OF THE HOUSE.
HIS COAT IS DIRTY; HIS HANDS ARE BLEEDING.
A woman: Are you all right?
Yehuda (raising his head): No, not at all.
A woman: Can I help you?
Yehuda: I don't know.
HE STANDS UP AND WALKS DOWN THE STREET.
YEHUDA TURNS INTO HIS ALLEY. SLOWLY, HE CLIMBS UP THE STAIRS TO HIS APARTMENT AND OPENS THE DOOR. ONCE INSIDE, HE GOES STRAIGHT TO HIS ROOM.
HIS MOTHER RUSHES TOWARD HIM, LOOKING AT HIM WITH ALARM.
Yehuda: I fell. Nothing serious.
Mother: There, in your room…
SHE DOESN'T FINISH, YEHUDA OPENS THE DOOR TO HIS ROOM AND STOPS AT THE DOORSTEP.
RABBI FELDMAN AND TEACHER SHMUEL ARE SITTING AT THE TABLE. HIS FATHER IS STANDING BY THE WALL ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM.
Yehuda (immediately): Don't worry, Father, I merely slipped. (Turns to the guests) Hello, Rabbi Shmuel. Something happened?
Rabbi Feldman (examining him): Don't be surprised, Yehuda. Your father, Simcha, invited us here. Please, take a seat.
YEHUDA LOOKS AT HIS FATHER, KEEPS STANDING.
Rabbi Feldman: You are studying Kabbalah, and we can't stop it now.
The teacher (harshly): Forbid him to study Kabbalah! I said it many times, and I will say it again!
Rabbi Feldman: Well, it’s not that simple anymore.
The teacher (addresses Yehuda): You’ve broken every boundary. And what your father, Simcha, has told us…
SIMCHA TRIES NOT TO LOOK AT YEHUDA.
The teacher: Simcha is saying that you consider Gentiles equal to Jews.
Yehuda: The most important thing is whether a person aspires to the Creator.
The teacher: And it's not important whether he is a Gentile or a Jew, right?
Yehuda: Correct. It’s irrelevant.
THE TEACHER QUICKLY LOOKS AT EVERYONE:
The teacher: Well, I think the case is clear. We must stop this completely, right away! (Pointing his finger at Yehuda) This man came to destroy everything that has held us together for centuries. He is deadly to us. Yehuda, we forbid you to study Kabbalah (seething). This madman, Baruch, this scoundrel and idiot!
Rabbi Feldman: Shmuel, please, I ask you…
The teacher: But look what he does to my students. (Turning to Yehuda) I repeat, we forbid you to study Kabbalah.
Yehuda: I cannot listen to you, Rabbi Shmuel. What you are telling me is to stop breathing, stop living. I cannot do that.
The teacher (addressing Rabbi Feldman): We must ban all Jews in Poland from speaking to him. All Jews in Poland.
Rabbi Feldman: I recall that you applied for ordination as a Rabbi?
Yehuda: Yes, I would like to take exams for ordination as a Rabbi and to begin teaching.
The teacher: Whaaaat?! Do you think that after all we heard now it is possible?
Yehuda: I am asking for a minute of your patience; I can explain everything to you.
The teacher: Why should we listen to you?!
Rabbi Feldman: Wait a minute, Shmuel. We are listening to you, Yehuda.
Yehuda: We must introduce, as soon as possible, the study of The Book of Zohar into all our educational institutions. We must begin compulsory Kabbalah studies from the earliest age possible. By this, we will bring the Light into the world and put an end to suffering. I can create the syllabus. I can begin teaching…
The teacher: A Gentile can't teach Jews. And you are a Gentile!
A PAUSE. THE TEACHER LOOKS AT YEHUDA, RABBI FELDMAN, THEN AT SIMCHA, AND BACK AT YEHUDA.
The teacher (firmly): I, as a member of the council, will do everything in my power to make sure you fail the exam. You will not be a Rabbi! I can't allow this plague that you have picked up to contaminate and destroy our people.
HE STANDS UP ABRUPTLY AND LEAVES THE ROOM. THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT BEHIND HIM.
RABBI FELDMAN SHAKES HIS HEAD, WATCHING HIM LEAVE.
Rabbi Feldman: Why do you have to create confrontations with everyone, Yehuda? Why?
YEHUDA SITS DOWN, LOOKS AT RABBI FELDMAN, THEN AT HIS FATHER.
SIMCHA DOES NOT KNOW WHERE TO PUT HIS EYES. HE TURNS AWAY.
Rabbi Feldman (addresses Yehuda): Tell me, why on earth can't you, with your brilliant mind, keep silent when it's needed, keep certain things unsaid? You are so clever! You want to become a Rabbi, don't you?
Yehuda: Yes.
Rabbi Feldman: Do you want to teach people?
Yehuda: This is the only reason why I want to become a Rabbi.
Rabbi Feldman: Well, play it smart! Look at what you've done with the teacher! He starts shaking at the mere sight of you. He almost had a stroke just now. What is he to blame for? He was taught that way, he isn't to blame. You need to explain everything to him from an entirely different perspective.
YEHUDA IS SILENT, LOOKING AT THE FLOOR.
Yehuda: I’m trying, but I’m not succeeding.
Rabbi Feldman: Well, realization is already a sign of progress. Well done. And now, (sitting back comfortably) tell me what you haven't told him.
YEHUDA IS WATCHING RABBI FELDMAN SUSPICIOUSLY.
Yehuda: Everything?
Rabbi Feldman: Well, go ahead, tell me as it is. We Jews are bad, aren't we?
YEHUDA IS ILL AT EASE.
Rabbi Feldman: I told you not to be afraid, so don’t be afraid, speak up!
Yehuda (makes up his mind): The eyes of the whole world are fixed on us.
Rabbi Feldman: So it’s always been.
Yehuda: Now it will be more than ever. There will be no leniency.
Rabbi Feldman: Why? Why now in particular?
Yehuda: A terrible century is dawning, a century of horrific suffering, terrible hatred, and unprecedented selfishness. And we Jews will be to blame for the suffering of the entire world.
Rabbi Feldman: Is that what the Gentiles think?
Yehuda: It is what Kabbalah thinks, The book of Zohar, It is what the Creator thinks.
FELDMAN IS SILENT, CONFLICTING THOUGHTS RACING WITHIN HIM.
Yehuda (passionately): We are the ones who are stopping the Creator from being revealed in the world.
Rabbi Feldman: We are the people of the Creator; we observe the Torah and the commandments.
Yehuda: We shouldn't boast, fill ourselves with knowledge, and become arrogant, priding ourselves with scrupulous observance of the commandments. No!
Simcha: Yehuda, stop!
Rabbi Feldman: Let him speak!
Yehuda: We need to observe everything only in order to reveal the Creator, the Light, Love, to the entire world. To become the bearers of the Light, instead of darkness.
SIMCHA WATCHES HIS SON WITH WONDER AND AWE.
Rabbi Feldman: If you’re going to talk like that, nobody will understand you. You are much too straightforward, too blunt.
Yehuda: You asked me to tell you the whole truth.
Rabbi Feldman: This is way too much.
Yehuda: I will try my best to make myself clear. I will search for ways to express it better so they can understand. I will make every effort. Why was I given this life if not for that? Otherwise, all of us, the whole world will experience unprecedented anguish.
Rabbi Feldman: How do you know that?
Yehuda: I do.
Rabbi Feldman: How?
Yehuda: I see it.
RABBI FELDMAN STARES AT HIM IN SILENCE.
SILENCE HANGS IN THE AIR. RAINDROPS FALL BEHIND THE WINDOW.
Rabbi Feldman: I suppose you know that you have to submit three recommendation letters to be admitted to the exam.
Yehuda: Yes, I do.
Rabbi Feldman: Do you know anyone who will recommend you?
YEHUDA IS SILENT.
RABBI FELDMAN STANDS UP AND WALKS TO THE DOOR. HE STOPS AT THE DOORSTEP.
Rabbi Feldman: I will give you my recommendation. I will also ask Rabbi Zilber and Rabbi Epstein to vouch for you. They love you for your diligence and deep knowledge. Certainly, I won't tell them what I heard from you today.
Yehuda: I am grateful to you, honorable Rabbi.
***
RABBINATE [27]. A LONG CORRIDOR.
JEWS IN BLACK CAPOTAS (TRADITIONAL FROCK COAT) AND SHTREIMELS (A TYPICAL FUR HAT) ARE SITTING ALONG THE WALLS, CROWDED NEXT TO A CLOSED DOOR.
TWO STUDENTS PRESS THEIR EARS AGAINST THE KEYHOLE, TRYING TO HEAR WHAT IS HAPPENING INSIDE, REPORTING WHAT THEY HEAR TO OTHERS IN LOW TONES.
Student #1: He responds at once!
Student #2 (in admiration): He didn’t even pause to think!
Student #1: Oh, what an answer!
Someone from the crowd: It's been more than three hours now.
Student #1: They are silent.
Student #2: They are silent.
Someone else from the crowd: Welllll?
Student #1: Well, they are still silent! Not a word.
Student #2: Hush, Rabbi Zilber is speaking. Congratulates him, he has passed. Excellent knowledge. Hopes that…
THE DOOR OPENS, THE TWO JEWS ALMOST GET KNOCKED DOWN.
THE TEACHER GOES OUT, MAKES A FEW STEPS ALONG THE CORRIDOR.
RABBI FELDMAN AND OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ARE FOLLOWING HIM. THEY ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER AND NODDING THEIR HEADS.
THE TEACHER STOPS ABRUPTLY, WAITS FOR RABBI FELDMAN.
HE WHISPERS TO HIM, BUT LOUD ENOUGH SO EVERYONE CAN HEAR.
The teacher: You are making a terrible mistake.
RABBI FELDMAN WALKS PAST HIM.
The teacher (approaches an elderly rabbi who is walking behind Rabbi Feldman): Rabbi Zilber, we have to stop him. (Turns to another elderly Rabbi) Rabbi Epstein!
Rabbi Epstein: I have done my best to stop him, you saw it for yourself. But it is impossible.
Rabbi Zilber: I can't recall anyone with such phenomenal knowledge… (lingers) and feeling.
THE RABBIS WALK ON, TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
YEHUDA COMES OUT OF THE ROOM.
SIMCHA JUMPS AT YEHUDA, HIS JOY MAKING HIM LOOK LIKE A CHILD.
JEWS SURROUND THEM, SHAKING YEHUDA'S HAND.
THE TEACHER SHMUEL IS STANDING AT A DISTANCE, AT THE END OF THE CORRIDOR, WATCHING THE SCENE.
***
THE JEWISH QUARTER IN WARSAW.
A BRIGHT MORNING.
SIMCHA AND YEHUDA ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREET.
SIMCHA CAN’T STOP TALKING, UNABLE TO CONTAIN HIS JOY.
TWO 16-YEAR-OLD GIRLS WALK IN THEIR DIRECTION.
ONE OF THEM RAISES HER EYES AND SMILES TIMIDLY AT SIMCHA.
SIMCHA SMILES BACK.
THE GIRLS WALK PAST THEM.
YEHUDA LOOKS BACK.
Yehuda: Who was that girl, Father?
Simcha: Rivka, a distant relative.
Yehuda: How old is she?
Simcha: Sixteen.
Yehuda: I would like her to be my wife.
SIMCHA LOOKS AT YEHUDA. YEHUDA NODS.
Yehuda: A Kabbalist must be married.
***
A FOOT IN A BLACK SHOE BREAKS A GLASS, WRAPPED IN PAPER.
IMMEDIATELY, BRISK JEWISH MUSIC STARTS PLAYING; WE ARE AT A HASSIDIC WEDDING.
YEHUDA, THE GROOM, IS THROWN UP TO THE CEILING IN THE CHAIR. HASSIDIC HATS ARE TOSSED IN THE AIR, CHEERFUL HASSIDIM JUMP UP AND DOWN IN A TRADITIONAL DANCE. A KLEIZMER BAND IS PLAYING, TWISTING IN TUNE TO THE MUSIC.
THE WEDDING IS JOYOUS, A TIME TO FORGET ALL THE TROUBLES!
IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE HASSIDIM (PL. OF HASSID) ARE GLIDING IN THE AIR.
BARUCH IS WATCHING THE FESTIVITIES FROM A CORNER.
A CROWD OF CHILDREN SURROUNDS HIM.
AN ALMOST EMPTY BOTTLE OF VODKA IS IN FRONT OF HIM.
BARUCH IS FOLLOWING YEHUDA WITH HIS EYES.
YEHUDA, IN THE MIDST OF A DANCE, MEETS HIS GAZE.
BARUCH NODS TO HIM, RAISES HIS GLASS, DRINKS, AND SUDDENLY THE GLASS DISAPPEARS FROM HIS HAND.
BARUCH SMILES AND CAREFULLY PICKS UP A GLASS FULL OF VODKA FROM THE SLEEVE OF HIS GREASY FROCK COAT.
THE CHILDREN AROUND HIM LAUGH.
YEHUDA LAUGHS.
WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR YEHUDA?
***
RIGHT AFTER THE WEDDING, NEWLYWEDS YEHUDA AND RIVKA MOVE OUT FROM WARSAW TO THE SMALL TOWN OF PURSOV.
THEY RENT AN APARTMENT DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM RIVKA’S PARENTS.
***
MIDNIGHT. SILENCE.
THE SMALL POLISH TOWN IS ASLEEP. THE MOON IS GLIDING IN THE STAR-FILLED SKIES.
BENEATH IT, AN OLD WOODEN HOME, ITS WINDOWS ALL DARK.
A FLICKERING, DIM LIGHT APPEARS IN ONE OF THE WINDOWS.
SUDDENLY THE SILENCE IS BROKEN BY THE SOUND OF CRACKING ICE.
A PAIR OF BARE FEET BREAK THROUGH AN ICY CRUST AND PLUNGE INTO A SMALL BASIN FULL OF ICE WATER.
A HALF-LIT ROOM.
YEHUDA SHAKES HIS HEAD AND BRINGS THE BOOK CLOSER TO HIS FACE. HIS FEET ARE SUBMERGED IN THE ICE WATER.
HIS YOUNG WIFE, RIVKA, IS WATCHING HIM FROM BEHIND A CURTAIN.
SHE SEEMS FRIGHTENED.
***
FROM THE STREET WE CAN SEE YEHUDA'S SILHOUETTE IN THE DIMLY LIT WINDOW.
A WOMAN IS LOOKING AT IT FROM THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET. IT IS DVORA, RIVKA'S MOTHER.
SHE TURNS HER HEAD FROM THE WINDOW INTO THE ROOM AND SAYS SOMETHING. HER HUSBAND'S SLEEPY FACE APPEARS IN THE WINDOW NEXT TO HER. BOTH OF THEM LOOK OUT THE WINDOW. THEY ARE WATCHING YEHUDA’S SHARP PROFILE, STILL AS A PICTURE AND DEEP IN CONCENTRATION.
***
YEHUDA'S AND RIVKA’S APARTMENT. DAWN.
YEHUDA IS LEANING OVER THE BOOK.
THE FLAME IN THE LAMP DIES OUT IN A PLUME OF SMOKE.
THE CLOCK SHOWS FIVE IN THE MORNING.
RIVKA IS ALREADY UP, COOKING BREAKFAST.
ONLY NOW WE CAN SEE THAT SHE IS PREGNANT.
A QUIET KNOCK ON THE DOOR.
RIVKA ANSWERS IT.
HER PARENTS ARE STANDING AT THE DOORSTEP.
THEY COME INSIDE.
YEHUDA GREETS HER FATHER.
THE FATHER IS WEARING A WHITE TALLIT [28]. HE IS FULL OF SELF-RESPECT IN ANTICIPATION OF THE MORNING PRAYER.
DVORA KISSES RIVKA.
***
A SYNAGOGUE IN A SMALL TOWN.
RIVKA’S FATHER AND YEHUDA ARE STANDING NEXT TO ONE ANOTHER, PRAYING.
THE ROOM IS WHITE WITH TALLITS, COVERING THE PRAYERS’ HEADS.
***
YEHUDA’S AND RIVKA’S APARTMENT.
RIVKA’S FATHER AND YEHUDA ARE SITTING AT THE TABLE.
RIVKA AND DVORA ARE BUSY SERVING THEM A SIMPLE BREAKFAST.
Father (addresses Yehuda): You look tired. Are you getting enough sleep?
Yehuda: Yes, I’m fine.
Father: How many hours of sleep do you get?
Yehuda: Three hours are enough for me.
Father: Nonsense!
Yehuda: I think that even that is too much.
Father: I see… Yehuda, you have a young wife.
Rivka: Father, please…
Father: There is no money in the house.
Rivka: We will repay you the debt next month.
Father (firmly): And you are doing who knows what … Why do you wake up at 1 a.m.?
Yehuda: The night is given to me for my studies.
Father: No, the night is for you to be with your wife (to Rivka: Keep quiet, Rivka!) so that you may rest and then greet each day refreshed, with a prayer, and last but not the least, in search of the daily bread. You have a family to feed.
DVORA MOVES BEHIND HER HUSBAND.
Father: We gave you Rivka thinking you were serious about building a family.
Rivka: Father, stop! You are interfering with our lives!
Dvora: No, this is wrong. We can't stand to watch him leaving you alone every night… doing only Lord knows what!
Rivka: Yehuda knows what he is doing!
Dvora: I think he’s doing nothing. He hasn't brought home a single penny!
Rivka: Mother!
Dvora: Start listening to elders. Both of you. We want you to have a normal family. His Kabbalah interferes with your lives.
Rivka (stands up): My husband is a great scholar. We earnestly ask you to stop interfering with our lives! Besides, he still has a little bit of time left to get some sleep, and you are distracting him with your senseless conversations.
Father: Whaaat?! Senseless?!
Dvora: In other words, you are asking us to leave?
Rivka: I want you to understand that I have a husband, whom I love, and we have a life together. I wish you would stay out of it.
Father: Stay out of it?
Rivka: Please.
THE FATHER STANDS UP AND WALKS TOWARD THE DOOR. DVORA HURRIES AFTER HIM.
Father (from the door): Well, don't cry when you have nothing to feed your kids, and he – your great scholar – is too busy studying to find a job and care for you. Don't come to us crying then! Let's go, Dvora!
THEY LEAVE. YEHUDA LOOKS AT RIVKA.
Yehuda: They won't come back here anymore.
Rivka: I've made my choice. I have you.
YEHUDA COMES UP TO HER AND HUGS HER.
RIVKA PUTS HER HAND TO HER BELLY AND SAYS, SMILING:
- He's so strong, he just can't keep still in there. He doesn't stop kicking.
SHE LOOKS UP AT YEHUDA AND PUTS HER HEAD ON HIS SHOULDER.
Rivka: I think we have to move away from here. They won't leave us alone. What do you think?
Yehuda: As you say.
***
MORNING. A SKINNY HORSE IS PULLING A WAGON. YEHUDA AND RIVKA ARE SITTING INSIDE. THEIR ENTIRE BELONGINGS CONSIST OF TWO SACKS – ONE FULL OF CLOTHES, THE OTHER FULL OF BOOKS.
THE COACHMAN GENTLY URGES HIS HORSE AS HE RECITES VERSES FROM PSALMS.
- “Happy is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor stood in the way of sinners…”
HE RAISES ONE CROOKED FINGER UP.
- “…nor sat in the seat of the scornful.”
HE SHAKES HIS HEAD, ALMOST SINGING.
- “And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; and in whatsoever he does he shall prosper.”
THE COACHMAN TURNS TO YEHUDA AND RIVKA AND WINKS TO THEM.
- I can see that you are a Rabbi, an educated man – he says,- and your wife is a beautiful woman. I, on the other hand, have been working since I was seven years old, I can't read or write anymore - I don’t need it. I just memorize everything my son is reading, and I cry. …It's just so beautiful. It's a wonder anyone could write like that.
YEHUDA LOOKS AT HIM AND SMILES.
THE COACHMAN URGES HIS HORSE AND COCKS HIS FINGER UP AGAIN.
The coachman: “Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise up against me, even then will I be confident.”
THE COACHMAN SHAKES HIS HAND AND CLICKS HIS TONGUE LOUDLY.
The coachman: Ahhh! How sweet, how beautiful, ay! My son reads it so beautifully. He sits and ponders over it, then explains it all to an old fool like me. He says that I love only myself, but that the Creator loves everybody.
Yehuda: Does he say that?
The coachman: Yes, he does! He’s so clever, my boy!
Yehuda: What's your son's name?
The coachman: Moshe. He is only ten. He always says, “Father, just look how kind is our Creator.” - Yes, I say, sure, He is kind.
HE SHAKES HIS HEAD, THEN TURNS BACK, AND URGES HIS HORSE.
The coachman: Well, hurry up, you old jade!
SUDDENLY HIS VOICE CHANGES. WE CAN SEE HIM WIPING TEARS WITH HIS SLEEVE.
The coachman: E-hhh! Sure, He is kind. If He is so kind, then why did He take my son's legs?
TURNS BACK TO YEHUDA, HIS EYES SPARKLING WITH TEARS.
The coachman: Huh? He's such a golden boy, my son, esteemed Rabbi, he knows everything, but his legs don’t work since birth. Of course, I’m not complaining, the Lord knows best. But can you just tell me, Rabbi, why He took my son's legs?
YEHUDA IS SILENT.
RIVKA, HOLDING HER BELLY WITH ONE HAND, IS LOOKING AT HER HUSBAND.
Yehuda: How far do you live from here?
The coachman: Not that close. About two hours ride with my jade, if she doesn't drop dead on the way.
Yehuda: I want to talk to your son. Will you let me?
The coachman: O-o-h my esteemed Rabbi! He will be so happy! He saw a rabbi only twice in his life, one of which was on his Brith [29]. (Glances at Rivka) But the road is very bad, your wife is almost ready to…
Rivka: No, I am feeling just fine. (Looks at Yehuda.) Let's go.
Yehuda (to the coachman): Let's go.
THE COACHMAN TUGS AT THE REINS VIGOROUSLY.
Thecoachman: Come now, you old hag, don't you linger! Whoa! Little Moshe is in for a big surprise!
THE OLD HORSE LOOKS AT ITS DRIVER OUT OF THE CORNER OF ITS EYE AND STARTS TROTTING A LITTLE FASTER.
THE WAGON IS RIDING ALONG AN UNEVEN ROAD, SWINGING FROM SIDE TO SIDE.
THE COACHMAN RECITES IN HIS RASPY VOICE:
- “The words of the preacher, son of David, king of Jerusalem: ’Vanity of vanities,’ says the preacher; ’Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’”
THE COACHMAN RECITES ALOUD FROM ECCLESIASTES:
- How right he is! “One generation goes, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever.”
THE WAGON DRIVES ON.
YEHUDA COVERS RIVKA WITH HIS COAT.
SHE PRESSES HERSELF AGAINST HIM.
A GREAT GRAY WILDERNESS STRETCHES BEFORE THEM: FIELDS, A FAR AWAY FOREST, A LONELY PINE TREE ON A FARAWAY HILL.
THE COACHMAN’S VOICE:
- “That which has been is that which shall be; and that which has been done is that which shall be done: and there is nothing new under the sun.”
THE SUN IS SETTING.
THE WAGON TOSSES FROM SIDE TO SIDE ON THE RUGGED ROAD.
RIVKA IS SITTING, PRESSING HERSELF AGAINST YEHUDA, HOLDING HER BELLY ANXIOUSLY.
A MOMENT LATER SHE STEPS OFF THE WAGON AND WALKS BEHIND IT, HER LEGS KNEE-DEEP IN MUD. SHE IS HOLDING YEHUDA’S HAND.
THE WAGON ENTERS A SMALL, POOR VILLAGE.
IT VEERS FROM THE MAIN ROAD AND A FEW TURNS LATER THE COACHMAN POINTS TOWARD A LOW BLACK WOODEN HOUSE.
A CHILD'S PALE FACE IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW.
The coachman: Here is my little boy.
THEY ENTER THE HOUSE.
SIMPLE, SCANT FURNITURE.
A CHILD, MOSHE, IS SITTING ON A WOODEN CHAIR, MADE ESPECIALLY FOR HIM.
A BOOK LIES OPEN BEFORE HIM ON THE WINDOW SILL.
HIS LEGS, LIKE SHOELACES, DANGLE LIFELESSLY FROM THE CHAIR.
MOSHE SMILES TO THE GUESTS.
THE COACHMAN SPREADS HIS ARMS IN JOY AND EFFORTLESSLY LIFTS MOSHE FROM HIS CHAIR.
MOSHE HUGS HIS FATHER AND KISSES HIS STUBBLY CHEEK.
The coachman: Well, honorable Rabbi, here is my little boy, my Moshe, the joy of my life.
YEHUDA LOOKS FIXEDLY AT MOSHE, WHO STARES BACK AT HIM.
YEHUDA EXTENDS HIS ARMS AND TAKES MOSHE FROM HIS FATHER'S LAP.
THE BOY HUGS HIM BY THE NECK AND PULLS HIMSELF CLOSE TO HIM.
RIVKA SITS AT THE DOOR AND QUIETLY LOOKS AT THEM.
Moshe(addresses Yehuda): How are you?
Yehuda: I am always thinking about Him, every day of my life.
Moshe: There is none else besides Him. He cares and thinks about us…
The coachman (grumbles): Why did He do this to you, if He cares?
MOSHE SMILES AND TOUCHES YEHUDA’S HAND.
YEHUDA SITS DOWN.
Moshe: Don't listen to him. He simply loves me so much, he just can't get that everything that comes from the Creator is absolute good.
The coachman (sighs): O-o-o-oww!
Moshe: He is doing all this intentionally, to confuse us, so that we may rise above all our thoughts and suffering and say, “All that exists is You! You are the greatest good, our beloved Father who loves all, all of us.”
YEHUDA LOOKS AT THE BOY IN ADMIRATION.
MOSHE SLAPS HIS HANDS ON HIS MOTIONLESS THIGHS.
Moshe: As for the body, it will always go on moaning. The body loves only itself. (Secretively and with a smile Moshe goes on) But there is a little part of Him in us, really small, like that (he shows his little finger). No, even smaller ( he brings his thumb to the last phalange of his pinky), that small, a little tiny point. It is called “a soul.” He gave it to us. He talks only with it. The soul, not the body, speaks to the Creator. Do I have it right, dear Rabbi?
Yehuda(with admiration): Your every single word is truth.
Moshe: I don't want to be my body's companion, I want to cling to my soul. Let the body suffer; I don't want to deal with it. I am with my soul and my soul is singing.
The coachman(excitedly): Such is my little beloved boy, esteemed Rabbi, so strange, so adorable. Silly me – I don't get what he says; I just want to sing on Sabbath [30] and drink some vodka. And to earn some money to support us and to buy him books. He has thumbed this one down to its threads; he knows it word for word. Just ask him! Well, ask him! Come, Moshe, let our esteemed Rabbi hear you recite something the way you recite to me.
SUDDENLY EVERYBODY CAN SEE THAT MOSHE IS NOT THERE. THAT IS, HE IS THERE BUT HIS GAZE IS FIXED ON SOMETHING FAR AWAY, OUTSIDE THE WINDOW.
A SILENT, PEACEFUL GAZE.
YEHUDA IS WATCHING MOSHE, AFRAID TO DISTRACT HIM.
HOW SIMILAR THEY ARE AT THIS MOMENT!
The coachman(whispering): It often happens like this. He will sit and read for hours on end and then he will lift his eyes and look. At what? Our mare? The road outside?
Yehuda(whispering): Can't you see with Whom he is conversing?
THE COACHMAN STRAINS TO LOOK OUT THE WINDOW IN THE DIRECTION OF MOSHE'S GAZE.
The coachman: Is it our old horse he's taking to?
Yehuda: Your son is right, you are silly. Beyond this window there is Light. And your boy is a great and happy man. He can see this Light.
MOSHE SHIFTS HIS GAZE TO YEHUDA AND SUDDENLY SAYS IN AN ADULT VOICE:
- You have to tell all of them about this so they understand. Know that the Creator has chosen you for a reason. He wants you to explain everything to them. They are blind; they can't be blamed. You, however, have to find the right words for them.
Yehuda: I'm doing my best, I am thinking a lot about how to do this.
Moshe: You will succeed.
Yehuda: I don’t know…
Moshe: But I do.
Yehuda (looks at him): Wait, just a second.
SUDDENLY YEHUDA STANDS UP AND LEAVES THE HOUSE.
HE RETURNS WITH A BAG, UNTIES IT ON THE TABLE, AND TAKES OUT THE BOOK OFZOHAR.
Yehuda: I want to leave this book with you.
MOSHE EXAMINES ITS COVER WITH AWE.
Moshe: The Zohar… I must finish it in time. It would be a shame if I didn't.
HE OPENS THE BOOK AND IS IMMEDIATELY LOST IN IT. HE DIVES INTO THE BOOK, AND THE ROOM AND THE PEOPLE IN IT DISAPPEAR FOR HIM. HIS EYES SWALLOW THE TEXT, DRINKING IN ITS LINES.
EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT MOSHE.
The coachman: That's it, now he’ll be gone till the morning. He doesn't eat, doesn't drink, just asks to feed the kerosene in the lamp. I need to buy more; what’s left won't last for more than two nights. Thank you so much for the book, honorable Rabbi, it's such a great gift for my boy. I will take you home free of charge.
THEY SILENTLY COME OUT INTO THE YARD AND CLIMB INTO THE WAGON.
THE COACHMAN TUGS ON THE REINS AND THE OLD MARE STARTS MOVING.
YEHUDA LOOKS AT THE WINDOW OF THE LONELY HOUSE WHERE THE LITTLE BOY CAN BE SEEN READING HIS BOOK.
THE KEROSENE LAMP IS ALREADY LIT.
NIGHT FALLS.
YEHUDA TURNS TO RIVKA.
Yehuda: So it happens, a messenger [31] has come to me and put everything in its right place. (Thoughtfully) I must explain all of this to them…, so they will understand. I must!
***
[14] Kotzk – a small town in Poland, where the Kabbalah group of Rabbi Menachem Mendel was founded.
[15] Plural of Hassid—a devout student. The Hassidut movement circulated the wisdom of Kabbalah among Jews throughout Eastern Europe.
[16] “Leaving the body” means leaving the egoistic desires in favor of altruistic (spiritual) ones. In Kabbalah, the “body” is not the biological body, but the desire to receive pleasure.
[17] All the worlds are within us. Kabbalah teaches that one perceives the whole of reality within. When the desires change from egoistic to altruistic, a person begins to feel the unity and love—the Creator—within.
[18] The garden within—the quality of bestowal and of loving others.
[19] A snake is an egoistic thought that has suddenly infiltrated into a pure and altruistic desire.
[20] Mordechai Yosef – a melody that the great Kabbalist Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk heard during the spiritual ascent.
[21] A tree is the quality of love and bestowal in a person. When this quality is used for the sake of others, one is regarded as being in the Garden of Eden. But when used for one’s own sake, the laws of the Garden of Eden break and a person is “expelled” from it.
[22] The rain is the quality of bestowal in a person, the quality of the Creator. The rain turns into a flood when a person wishes to use it for self-gratification rather than for gratification of others.
[23] A “fall” or “descent” is when a person who aspires to spirituality senses an egoistic desire that is beyond one’s ability to restrain, causing one to “fall” into it and live for oneself. An “ascent” is when one corrects that egoistic desire and rises above it.
[24] “Darkness” is the ego’s rule over a person, a rule that hides the Creator and the spiritual world from a person. “Light” is the revelation of the quality of bestowal and love in a person, allowing one to rediscover the spiritual world, the Creator.
[25] “Cleansing” means cleaning the dirt—working on correcting the egoistic desires, receiving with the aim to delight others, i.e. the Creator.
[26] The “ark” is a closed system of desires that aim only toward bestowal and love. A person seemingly rises above the ego and temporarily “drowns” the rest of the desires, meaning avoids using them. Thus, one “sails” in the ark, protected within one’s pure thoughts.
[27] Rabbinate, from the Hebrew word Rabanut, is a religious establishment run by rabbis who test students’ knowledge and ordain them as rabbis. The Rabbinate also judges, rules, marries, and divorces couples within the orthodox Jewry.
[28]Tallit—a thin white prayer shawl that Jews wear during service.
[29]Brith (circumcision): a Jewish custom in which the foreskin of a newborn male is removed from the penis 8 days after birth.
[30] Sabbath (Saturday), the holy day for the Jews
[31] A messenger – the Creator manifests to a person through any phenomenon, books, or person. One only needs to be ready to accept His message.