The Kabbalist (4)
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE.
THE SHIP IS ROCKING ON THE WAVES. PASSENGERS ARE STANDING ON DECK. EVERYONE IS ANXIOUSLY WAITING FOR LAND TO APPEAR.
OUR HEROES ARE STANDING WITH THEM AS WELL: RIVKA WITH THE NEWLY BORN BAT SHEVA, CHAIM, BARUCH, AND RAV ASHLAG.
***
PORT OF JAFFA [47].
PEOPLE ARE COMING DOWN THE SHIP'S GANGWAY.
A BRITISH PATROL IS SCANNING THE NEWCOMERS' FACES INTENTLY.
RAV ASHLAG COMES OUT OF THE PORT GATES.
RIVKA WITH BAT SHEVA, BARUCH, AND CHAIM CAN BARELY KEEP UP WITH HIM.
HE TURNS TO THEM:
Rav Ashlag: Quick!
Rivka: Where are we going?
Rav Ashlag: To Jerusalem.
***
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE OF JERUSALEM IN THE 1920s.
STREETS BUSY WITH PEOPLE OF VARIOUS NATIONALITIES: TURKS, BRITISH,
ARMENIANS, ARABS, BEDOUINS, AND JEWS.
LAZY MERCHANTS SIT BY MOUNDS OF GOODS IN DIZZYING COLORS.
A FLAMBOYANT TURK SMOKES A HOOKAH.
TWO ORTHODOX JEWS ARGUE IN THE SHADE OF A HOUSE.
***
RAV ASHLAG, CHAIM, AND BARUCH ARE WALKING DOWN THE STREET.
THEY STOP BEFORE A MODEST SIGN THAT READS: KABBALISTIC YESHIVA [48]GANEY HOCHMA (GARDENS OF WISDOM).
THEY WALK UP STONE STEPS WORN DOWN WITH TIME.
THEY ARRIVE AT A LARGE OPEN HALL ON THE SECOND FLOOR FILLED WITH STUDENTS OF VARIOUS AGES.
SOME ARE CONVERSING, OTHERS ARE READING, SOMEONE IS PACING AROUND
ENGAGED IN DEEP THOUGHT, ANOTHER IS DOZING OFF, HIS HEAD RESTING ON THE
PAGES OF AN OPEN BOOK.
RAV ASHLAG STANDS STILL AT THE ENTRANCE.
Rav Ashlag (excitedly): Just look at that! They are studying Kabbalah!
SUDDENLY SOMEONE’S HAND TOUCHES RAV ASHLAG’S SHOULDER. HE TURNS AROUND TO SEE AN OLD SEPHARDIC [49] JEW.
Sephardic Jew (looking at them): Where do you come from, Kabbalists?
Rav Ashlag (happily): From Warsaw.
Sephardic Jew (with a welcoming smile): Come with me.
THEY WALK ALONG A LONG CORRIDOR.
THROUGH THE WINDOWS ON THEIR RIGHT, THE WESTERN WALL [50] FLASHES BY.
MANY PEOPLE ARE STANDING NEXT TO IT, PRAYING.
***
INSIDE THE ROOM OF THE SEPHARDIC JEW.
Sephardic Jew: I am Rav Hadad, head of this yeshiva. (He points at a small old man sitting in the corner in front of a gigantic book.) This is Rav Levi, my teacher. Tell us about yourselves.
Rav Ashlag: We have come to study.
Rav Hadad: What do you know about us?
Rav Ashlag: That you are a great Kabbalistic yeshiva dating back two hundred years.
SUDDENLY, A COARSE VOICE COMES FROM THE CORNER.
Rav Levi: Genesis 2:22, "And the Lord God constructed the rib...“ (Looks up from the book at Rav Ashlag) Continue!
Rav Hadad: He's just arrived, teacher…
Rav Ashlag (without thinking): “Here it points to the meaning of the levirate marriage…”
Rav Levi: Take him.
STANDING IN THE DOORWAY, CHAIM AND BARUCH SHIFT THEIR EYES FROM RAV LEVI TO RAV ASHLAG AND BACK.
Rav Hadad: You memorized the entire Book of Zohar, Ashkenazi [51]. Good for you!
Rav Ashlag: I didn't intend to.
Rav Hadad: You sound apologetic, and yet this is the very essence of our work – to memorize these texts. Rav Levi, my teacher, can recite the entire Zohar by heart, as well as all the writings of the holy Ari. That is what makes him a great Kabbalist.
Rav Ashlag: I don't think that Rav Levi is a great sage because he has a good memory.
Rav Hadad: Certainly, he studies the holy texts every day, reciting the holy words! (Emphatically) That’s why he knows them by heart and that’s why he is such a great teacher of Kabbalah!
PAUSE.
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS AT RAV LEVI.
Rav Ashlag (dryly): Is that what we have to do?
Rav Hadad: This is what we have to do.
Rav Ashlag: But we do this while trying to penetrate the inner meaning of these words, right?!
Rav Hadad: These words don't have any inner meaning. The words themselves are holy, that's it. By pronouncing them, we hasten the coming of the Messiah [52].
Rav Ashlag (sardonically): And who, may I ask, told you that?
Rav Hadad: I don't understand your question.
CHAIM TAKES A STEP BACK AND HIS BACK NOW PRESSES AGAINST THE DOOR.
Rav Levi (from the corner): We believe in it, and that’s enough for us.
Rav Ashlag (turning to face him): You can believe only when you attain [53]. When you feel it with your heart, when you see it for yourself, only then do you believe.
Rav Levi: Nonsense! What can you possibly see, you pitiful creature! What can you feel? You have to believe and that's that. Blindly (Staring intently into Rav Ashlag's eyes) You will learn how to do it still, Ashkenazi [54]!
Rav Ashlag (without turning his eyes away, steadily, almost by syllables): You can only study from someone (Pause) who teaches how to attain, how to see.
Rav Levi: And I say, put it out of your mind. I say it’s nonsense!
Rav Ashlag (persistently): Only one who has attained the inner meaning can teach!
Rav Levi (slowly getting up and raising his voice): Gibberish! There is no inner meaning here. There is no inner attainment, only the literal meaning of what is written and nothing more, God forbid!
***
ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE ROOM DISAPPEARS IN A FLASH OF LIGHT.
RAV ASHLAG SEES A BEAUTIFUL, PEACEFUL, SUNLIT COUNTRY STRETCHING BEFORE HIM. THEN THE EARTH BEGINS TO QUAKE.
***
THE KABBALISTIC YESHIVA.
RAV ASHLAG IS LOOKING SILENTLY AT RAV LEVI, WHO IS PIERCING RAV ASHLAG WITH HIS GAZE.
Rav Levi: Where were you just now?!
CHAIM AND BARUCH ARE STANDING AT THE DOOR, AFRAID TO BREATHE.
Rav Ashlag: In the land of Israel, the great country that lives within each and every one of us!
Rav Levi: You are resisting me, Ashkenazi!
Rav Ashlag: I must have come to the wrong place.
Rav Levi: You are an arrogant man!
Rav Ashlag: When I was in Warsaw, I imagined you all to be so great.
Rav Hadad: You are insulting the authentic Kabbalah!
Rav Ashlag: You have nothing to do with authentic Kabbalah.
RAV ASHLAG PAUSES AGAIN AND WATCHES RAV LEVI SEETHE WITH ANGER.
Rav Ashlag: This is a place of charlatans, not Kabbalists!
HE TURNS AROUND AND LEAVES THE ROOM.
CHAIM AND BARUCH QUICKLY FOLLOW HIM.
RAV HADAD IS LOOKING AT RAV LEVI.
Rav Levi: You have to keep an eye on him, Rav Hadad. He can get us into a lot of trouble.
RAV ASHLAG, CHAIM, AND BARUCH ARE WALKING DOWN THE CORRIDOR.
A YOUNG MAN IN HIS TWENTIES CATCHES UP WITH THEM.
HE IS DEVOURING RAV ASHLAG WITH HIS EYES.
Young man: I heard your entire conversation.
Rav Ashlag: Were you eavesdropping?
Young man: I couldn't help it.
Rav Ashlag: What's your name?
Young Man: Shimon. I've been studying here for a year already. I don't know what I should do.
Baruch: Come with us!
Shimon: But…
Rav Ashlag: There is no coercion in spirituality, Shimon. A man must reach his own decisions.
THEY EXIT THE YESHIVA.
RAV HADAD AND RAV LEVI ARE WATCHING THEM FROM THE SECOND FLOOR WINDOW.
***
JERUSALEM. A SMALL INNER COURTYARD.
RIVKA IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW ON THE COMMOTION OUTSIDE.
RAV ASHLAG, CHAIM, AND BARUCH ARE PRYING OPEN LARGE WOODEN CRATES AND TAKING OUT VARIOUS METAL PARTS, VISES, PRESSES, AND PIECES OF HIDE.
THEY ARRANGE ALL THIS ON THE GRASS.
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS UP.
TWO YOUNG JEWS ARE WATCHING HIM FROM BEHIND THE LOW FENCE.
ONE OF THEM IS SHIMON.
Shimon: This is my friend, Moshe. We want to study with you.
Rav Ashlag: Do you wish to become tanners? You should know it is a stinking business.
Shimon: We want to study Kabbalah and the craft of a tanner together with you.
CHAIM SMILES BROADLY AT THE TWO OF THEM FROM BEHIND RAV ASHLAG'S BACK.
Shimon: We won't leave until you accept us.
BARUCH IS OVERWHELMED WITH EXCITEMENT.
HE IS DOING A LITTLE DANCE.
Rav Ashlag (without turning back): Baruch, you’ve already lost a wrench, you’d better think how you’re going to assemble this machine. (To Shimon and Moshe) Are you prepared to scrape a living in the most grimy work there is?
All together: We are.
Rav Ashlag: To study at night?
All together: We are ready. We are!
Rav Ashlag: To get three hours of sleep, no more?
All together: Yes, we are ready! We are!
Rav Ashlag: Have you thought this out carefully?
They, together: We have.
Rav Ashlag: Then come on in. You will help us assemble the machines. We are holding the first lesson tonight.
IN AN EMOTIONAL OUTBURST, CHAIM AND BARUCH RUN UP TO SHIMON AND MOSHE, HUG THEM, AND DRAG THEM INSIDE.
***
NIGHT IN JERUSALEM.
EMPTY STREETS.
JACKALS HOWLING BEYOND THE CITY WALLS.
NARROW STREETS SNAKE BETWEEN DARK HOUSES.
A SINGLE, DIMLY LIT WINDOW.
INSIDE, A SMALL ROOM WAS CONVERTED INTO A CLASSROOM.
RAV ASHLAG'S FOUR STUDENTS, SHIMON, MOSHE, CHAIM, AND BARUCH, ARE SITTING AROUND HIM.
HE POINTS AT THE BOOK OF ZOHAR ON THE TABLE IN FRONT OF HIM.
Rav Ashlag: This is the Holy Book of Zohar.
Moshe (excitedly): I’ve been studying it for three years.
Rav Ashlag: It’s impossible to study it. You can only feel it.
Moshe: I’m trying.
Rav Ashlag: Nonsense. Drop it.
Moshe: But…
Rav Ashlag: If you don't place yourself inside it, this book is nothing but an empty space, a stack of pages stained with ink.
Shimon: What do we have to do to feel it?
RAV ASHLAG PLACES HIS HAND ON THE BOOK.
Rav Ashlag: Here, behind these pages, there are one hundred and twenty five degrees of spiritual ascent. One hundred and twenty five degrees of descent into your self, into your “I.” The picture that is waiting for you down there is not a pretty one.
RAV ASHLAG IS SILENT.
EVERYBODY’S EYES ARE FIXED ON HIM.
Shimon: What’s down there? Inside of me?
Rav Ashlag: A disease.
Shimon: A disease?
Rav Ashlag: It’s been eating away at you for a long time. The Zohar can detect it for you.
EVERYONE TURNS THEIR EYES TO SHIMON.
Rav Ashlag (without turning his eyes away from him): You are full of hatred toward the whole world. You live only for yourself. It is a terrible disease.
Shimon: How can I see that?
Rav Ashlag: The Light. A small ray of Light penetrates you. On each degree there is more Light. That’s how the Creator reveals Himself to you.
Shimon: Will I see Him?
Rav Ashlag: He is behind every word.
RAV ASHLAG TURNS TO THE FIRST PAGE OF THE BOOK AND POINTS HIS FINGER ON THE FIRST LINE.
Rav Ashlag: There He is.
EVERYBODY LEANS OVER THE BOOK.
Rav Ashlag: Can you see Him?
Chaim: No, I can’t.
Shimon (whispers): Is He here?
Rav Ashlag: Yes.
Moshe: Are you making fun of us?
Rav Ashlag: This matter is too serious to waste our time on jokes. He is here. All the time. (Looks at the book closely) There He is. This is His world.
EVERYONE KEEPS STARING AT THE BOOK.
THEN THEY TURN THEIR GAZE TO RAV ASHLAG.
Shimon: Why can’t we see Him?
Moshe: Yes, why?!
Rav Ashlag: You cannot see a world that operates according to the laws of absolute love.
Moshe: Why?!
Rav Ashlag: Because you are not like it.
Shimon: When will I see Him?
Rav Ashlag: When the Light cleanses you.
Shimon: When?!
Rav Ashlag: When you become similar to Him. It’s impossible to do it all at once. That’s why the degrees have been created. Each degree has its own Light. First a weak Light, then stronger and stronger. And on each degree there are ascents and descents. One has to withstand them.
Shimon: Will I be able to endure it?
Rav Ashlag: You? No.
Shimon: How then?
Rav Ashlag: Together.
Shimon: What does He want?
Rav Ashlag: He wants us to unite.
RAV ASHLAG POINTS TO THE FIRST LINES.
- There He is, behind these lines. Read, Shimon!
Shimon (looks at the lines, then whispers): “It is written, ‘As a rose among the thorns.’” What is a rose? It is the Assembly of Israel…
Rav Ashlag: Isra (pronounced Yashar) – straight, El (God) – to the Creator. We, Israel, are one heart with one desire… to meet Him! (Stares at the lines in the book) He is here right now as well. He is waiting.
A PAUSE. RAV ASHLAG IS SILENT.
Shimon: Lead us there. To Him.
RAV ASHLAG IS STILL SILENT.
Moshe: We will follow your every step.
Chaim: We all want it, badly.
Baruch: It’s what we live for.
RAV ASHLAG LEANS OVER THE TABLE, CLOSER TO THEM.
Rav Ashlag: Stay together. Don’t think of yourselves. Ask for strength. Not for yourselves. For the whole unfortunate world. Demand the strength to unite. Do you hear me?
Shimon: Yes!
Moshe: Yes
Chaim: Yes!
Baruch: Yes!
ALL OF THEM LEAN OVER THE BOOK.
***
RAV ASHLAG’S ROOM. MORNING.
RIVKA ENTERS THE ROOM.
IT’S EMPTY.
SHE APPROACHES THE TABLE.
A NOTE IS LYING ON THE BOOK OF ZOHAR.
HER HUSBAND’S NEAT HANDWRITING READS:
”I WILL BE BACK IN THREE DAYS. DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME. YEHUDA.”
***
GERMANY. MUNICH OF THE 1920’S.
A FIGURE DRIFTS SLOWLY ALONG BUSY STREETS, PAST PEOPLE WALKING, SHOP WINDOWS, ANTIQUE HOUSES.
THE FIGURE STOPS OUTSIDE A BEER HOUSE.
THE SIGN ABOVE THE DOOR READS "BURGER BROIKELLER."
THE FIGURE GLIDES INSIDE.
HITLER IS STANDING ON ONE OF THE WOODEN TABLES DRESSED IN POLISHED BOOTS AND SURROUNDED BY A CROWD OF STORM TROOPERS.
THEY ARE HITTING THEIR IRON CUPS ON THE TABLES.
THE CROWD CHANTS IN GERMAN: “KILL THE PIGS!” “AWAY WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF TRAITORS!” “GERMANY – FOR THE GERMANS!”
HITLER'S HAND RISES AND FALLS IN TUNE.
HITLER TURNS HIS HEAD SHARPLY TO THE RIGHT.
HE LOOKS IN THAT DIRECTION FOR A LONG MOMENT.
FINALLY, HE JUMPS OFF THE TABLE AND WALKS TO THE CORNER OF THE BEER HOUSE.
IN THE CORNER SITS RAV ASHLAG HOLDING A LARGE BEER MUG, DRESSED IN TRADITIONAL JEWISH ORTHODOX CLOTHES.
SURPRISINGLY, NO ONE IS PAYING ATTENTION TO HIM.
HITLER WALKS UP TO HIM.
Hitler: Can no one see you or have I become schizophrenic?!
Rav Ashlag: They can’t.
Hitler (looking around): They can't see you. Amazing! Who are you?!
Rav Ashlag: My name is Rav Ashlag.
Hitler: How did you get here?
Rav Ashlag: It's not important. (Looking into Hitler's eyes.) You can be completely open with me.
Hitler (suddenly sits down): I have to tell you something… (He leans closer.) I can't explain this logically but somewhere deep inside me, in my subconscious… (He points to his chest) I feel untamed hatred to your kind! Profound loathing!
Rav Ashlag: I know. Sit closer, I can't hear through all the yelling.
Hitler (shifts his chair closer and glances back at the chanting crowd): One other thing… I have a feeling that it's not me, that I was chosen, shaped, and thrown into this fire. I, a mere corporal, suddenly turned into a king. Can you explain this to me?!
Rav Ashlag: “The hearts of ministers and kings are in the hand of the Creator.” The Creator is moving you.
Hitler: He hates the Jews?
Rav Ashlag: He is absolute love, how can He hate anyone? This attribute does not exist in Him. He loves everyone. We all are one to Him.
Hitler: Then why am I so full of hatred? Explain this to me. (His voice drops to a whisper) I will ruin half the world if I am not stopped, won't I? Well, try to explain this to me, maybe after your explanation I will come to my senses, and you will save millions. You have a rare chance. Try me, Jew! Please try, I am pleading with you!
RAV ASHLAG PUSHES THE BEER MUG ASIDE AND DOESN'T SAY A WORD.
Hitler: Well, why aren't you speaking?
Rav Ashlag: The tragedy of the situation is that it's not you that I should be explaining everything to. If not you, then somebody else will take your place. You really don't have any free choice… Indeed, you were simply chosen, molded, and thrown into this inferno.
Hitler (bleakly): I am a puppet.
Rav Ashlag: You are. I can't explain anything to a puppet, and I shouldn't. You won't understand it anyway. I have to explain it to other people. But I can't. They just can’t hear me. They have turned a deaf ear to me. They don't want to listen; they just won’t!
RAV ASHLAG SLAMS HIS BEER MUG AGAINST THE TABLE IN FRUSTRATION AND TURNS TO FACE THE WALL.
Hitler: Why did you come here anyway?
Rav Ashlag: I wanted to see everything with my own eyes. To be able to feel… in order to scream!
RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP AND STARTS WALKING TOWARD THE DOOR.
Hitler: I will let you go this time. But don't come back here. Bad times are coming for you Jews.
***
WARSAW. RABBINICAL COURT.
SHMUEL, THE TEACHER, IS WAVING A FEW WRINKLED PIECES OF PAPER IN THE AIR.
RABBI FELDMAN, RABBI EPSTEIN, AND RABBI ZILBER ARE SITTING IN FRONT OF HIM IN SILENCE.
Teacher Shmuel: That scoundrel! He doesn't let up his attempts to undermine our community even from Palestine. This open letter is challenging our authority! It is being copied and spread around. Listen to this: "You are in terrible danger. Your teachers and your leaders must hear me, and if not, then heed my calling you, my dear brothers and sisters. You must leave Europe at once. As comfortable as it may seem to you now, leave everything and come to the Land of Israel. The time of exile is over. We have been charged with a great calling – to bring the Light into the world. As long as we do not assume this task, we will continue to turn the entire world against us. Your leaders do not understand this and so condemn us all to a terrible fate. It's all of you, however, who are going to suffer first! But not all is lost if you leave Europe as soon as possible!
THE TEACHER STOPS READING AND LOOKS AROUND THE ROOM. HE THROWS THE PAGES ON THE GROUND IN CONTEMPT AND PROCEEDS TO TRAMPLE THEM.
Teacher Shmuel: I demand to put an end to this! We have people everywhere! (Screams) We need to find him and teach him a lesson! He should not feel safe, neither here nor there nor anywhere.
***
MORNING. JERUSALEM. RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
HIS HEAD IS RESTING ON THE TABLE.
NEXT TO HIM, AN OVERTURNED CUP WITH DRIED COFFEE LEFTOVERS AND AN ASHTRAY FULL OF STUBS.
SUDDENLY THE WINDOWPANE SHATTERS WITH A TERRIBLE DIN AND A LARGE STONE ROLLS ONTO THE FLOOR NEXT TO RAV ASHLAG.
SHOUTING WOMEN CAN BE HEARD THROUGH THE BROKEN WINDOW.
RAV ASHLAG JERKS UP. A SCARED RIVKA RUNS INTO THE ROOM.
RAV ASHLAG WALKS OVER TO THE WINDOW AND SEES A REMARKABLE SIGHT.
A CROWD OF YELLING WOMEN SURROUNDED BY JEWISH MEN IS CLAMORING IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE.
Young woman: I don't want my husband to lose his mind. What have you done to him?!
Elderly woman: Look at him, how he stands there, watching us! You can’t scare us! Our children are righteous Jews, and we won't let you take them away from us!
A MAN'S VOICE COMES FROM THE CROWD.
WE CAN'T SEE HIS FACE.
Man’s voice: We demand that you to leave our sacred city. You defile it with your presence. Get out of here!
Elderly woman: Or we will poke your eyes out! Yours and your wife’s. We will burn down your disease-infested house!
Rav Ashlag (calmly): You are full of hatred. That’s not good.
THE ELDERLY WOMAN TURNS TO THE CROWD.
- Are you men or children?! Bring this house down!
A FEW MORE ROCKS, CAST BY SKILLED HANDS, BREAK THE WINDOWS NEXT TO RAV ASHLAG.
HIS FACE IS SHOWERED WITH SHARDS OF BROKEN GLASS.
RIVKA GRABS HIS SLEEVE AND TRIES TO YANK HIM AWAY FROM THE WINDOW.
Rivka (yelling): What are you doing?! Shame on you! Are you not Jews?
ANOTHER STONE WHIZZES ABOVE HER HEAD.
SUDDENLY, RAV ASHLAG’S CALM VOICE OVERTAKES THE DIN OF THE MOB.
- Do you know that I am studying the secret wisdom?
THE CROWD FREEZES IN SILENCE, AS IF ON COMMAND.
Rav Ashlag: You can break down all the glass in my house. But I can mend it all with a single word.
THE CROWD IS SILENT.
- And then the whole world will witness my great power and what happens to those who oppose it.
A WOMAN SHRIEKS.
Man’s voice: What are you afraid of?! He can't do anything to you!
Rav Ashlag: You have come here and broken the windows of the house of a Kabbalist, who knows the secret of life and death.
THE CROWD BEGINS TO MOVE WITH DISCOMFORT.
THE WOMEN IN THE FIRST ROW BEGIN TO DISPERSE SILENTLY, WALKING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE. THEY CAST SCARED GLANCES BEHIND THEIR SHOULDERS.
THE MEN START RETREATING AFTER THEM.
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS AT THEM FROM ABOVE.
RIVKA, SHUDDERING, IS STANDING CLOSE TO HER HUSBAND.
THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE QUICKLY BECOMES DESERTED.
Rivka (whispering): Is it true what you said? Can you fix everything with a single word?
Rav Ashlag: Yes, it is. (Turning to look at her) Do you doubt it? I can fix everything with a single word.
Rivka: What is that word?
Rav Ashlag: One word to Amikam, the glassmaker who lives two blocks down, and he will be up here in no time to fix all our windows.
RIVKA SMILES.
HER SMILE BROADENS AND GROWS INTO LAUGHTER.
AND NOW THEY ARE BOTH LAUGHING TOGETHER.
RAV ASHLAG PICKS UP HIS DAUGHTER IN HIS ARMS AND BEGINS TO DANCE WITH HER.
RIVKA AND BARUCH ARE CLAPPING THEIR HANDS IN JOY.
***
JERUSALEM. NIGHT.
A MAKESHIFT CLASSROOM INSIDE RAV ASHLAG’S HOME.
RAV ASHLAG IS SEATED BEHIND THE TABLE.
HIS STUDENTS ARE SITTING OPPOSITE HIM.
THE LESSON IS ABOUT TO START.
Moshe (ill at ease): Teacher, it was my wife who came screaming at you today. She told me that an old rabbi gathered all the women in the synagogue this morning, literally set them up against you. She said his name was…
Rav Ashlag (cuts him off): You are wasting valuable time. You should leave everything that doesn’t concern the lesson out there. (Points at the door)
SUDDENLY THE DOOR OPENS AND A TALL, ELDERLY JEW STEPS IN.
HE IS WEARING A LARGE, EXPENSIVE FUR HAT.
AT THE SIGHT OF HIM SHIMON RISES AND ALL THE STUDENTS FOLLOW SUIT.
Elderly Jew: Please allow me to be present in your lesson, honorable Rav Ashlag.
Rav Ashlag: I teach only my students.
Shimon (whispering): But this is Avraham Kook, the Chief Rabbi of Israel.
Rav Ashlag (ignoring him): This is a time for studying, not interrogation.
Rav Kook: I didn't come here to interrogate you, I came for your lesson.
Rav Ashlag: Then I must warn you that I was excommunicated by the Warsaw community leaders and your visit here may be misconstrued by other rabbis. You are asking for trouble; you are a public figure.
Rav Kook: I know. I received stern warnings from here and from Warsaw. You have many enemies.
Rav Ashlag: Clearly. Besides, I have firm opinions on every matter.
Rav Kook: I am aware of that, too.
Rav Ashlag: I teach Kabbalah and only Kabbalah.
Rav Kook: I know all that; no need to detail all your virtues. Rav Hadad is standing right outside demanding that I stop you.
RAV HADAD’S PALE FACE APPEARS IN THE WINDOW FOR A BRIEF MOMENT.
Rav Ashlag (ignoring Rav Hadad): It's impossible.
Rav Kook: This, too, I know very well. I've asked to be admitted to your Kabbalah lesson. If you have no objection, I will stay.
Rav Ashlag (after a pause): You may stay.
Rav Kook: Thank you.
RAV ASHLAG TURNS TO HIS STUDENTS.
Rav Ashlag: Kabbalah is not a religion. Kabbalah is a science.
ALL THE STUDENTS LOOK FURTIVELY AT THE GUEST.
HE IS STARING AT RAV ASHLAG, UNBLINKING.
Rav Ashlag: Religion is based on faith in what somebody else said. Kabbalah is based on fact, on results of first-hand experiments. I believe only after having attained for myself.
RAV ASHLAG STARTS PACING AROUND THE ROOM, PAYING NO ATTENTION TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING.
RAV HADAD’S HEAD BOBS UP AND DOWN IN THE WINDOW.
HE IS LOOKING AT RAV KOOK, AS IF TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE IS NOT INTERVENING.
Rav Ashlag: Religion pacifies. Kabbalah, on the other hand, demands constant inner combustion. It's only for those who are consumed by the question: “Why was I born?”
THE STUDENTS’ EYES ARE FIXED ON THEIR TEACHER, PACING FROM WALL TO WALL.
IT IS EVIDENT THAT THEY ARE PROUD OF HIM.
Rav Ashlag: There is a crucial distinction between Kabbalah and religion.
RAV HADAD GESTURES ANXIOUSLY TO RAV KOOK.
RAV KOOK DOESN'T RESPOND.
Rav Ashlag: Religion says, “Ask of the Creator, and He will help, He will forgive, He will have mercy. Ask, and He will change His attitude toward you.” But Kabbalah says that the Creator is unchanging.
HE STOPS BY THE WINDOW AND LOOKS AT THEM ALL.
Rav Ashlag (articulately): He is unchanging! It's we who must change in relation to Him. Only one request can come from us to Him – for Him to correct us.
RAV ASHLAG LEANS ON THE WINDOWSILL.
Rav Ashlag: I have moved closer to the window on purpose, so that Rav Hadad can hear my every word. All of our holy books were written by Kabbalists and explain only one thing: how we can rise above the angel of death - our egoism. One hundred and twenty-five degrees of the revelation of Love – this is the wisdom of Kabbalah.
It emerged long before any religion did, and for one purpose only: to bring the world to unity. To fortify it with Love. What can be more exalted than this?!
THE DOOR FLIES OPEN AND RAV HADAD BURSTS IN.
HE IS BREATHLESS WITH FURY.
HE LOOKS ONLY AT RAV KOOK AND YELLS.
Rav Hadad: You are the chief religious leader of Israel, and you calmly listen to this?! To a man who, before your very eyes, undermines the foundations of our religion! How can you keep silent?!
Rav Kook (calmly): I don't hear any contradiction in his words.
Rav Hadad: What?! Kabbalah is a science? Religion is psychology? Kabbalah is for everyone? The Creator is a companion?
Rav Kook: I agree with every word the honorable Rav Ashlag is saying.
RAV HADAD PIPES DOWN AS IF THUNDERSTRUCK.
RAV KOOK GETS UP AND WALKS TO THE DOOR. HE STOPS BEFORE IT.
Rav Kook (addressing Rav Ashlag): If you only knew how I much I would love to stay with you and study Kabbalah. Alas, I can't. My duty is elsewhere. What a shame, a real shame.
RAV KOOK LEAVES.
RAV HADAD FOLLOWS HIM WITH HIS EYES.
Shimon: Rav Hadad, perhaps you would like to stay?
Rav Hadad (to Rav Ashlag): Mark my words, we will make life unbearable for you here.
***
JERUSALEM. DAYTIME.
A MASSIVE IRON SHED. INSTEAD OF WINDOWS, IT HAS PERFORATED WOODEN BOARDS.
PEOPLE WALK AROUND IT, CLUTCHING THEIR NOSES.
WE CAN SEE THROUGH THE CRACKS AS A MAN IS STANDING AMIDST A CLOUD OF LIME DUST AND REPEATS THE SAME MONOTONOUS MOTIONS. THE MAN IS RAV ASHLAG.
SWEAT POURS DOWN HIS FACE. THE VEINS ON HIS FOREARMS ARE SWOLLEN.
HE IS USING A WOODEN SCRAPER FASTENED WITH A SHARP METAL TOOTH TO DRY-SCRAPE A PIECE OF HIDE.
BARUCH IS STANDING A LITTLE FARTHER OFF, WORKING ON A PRIMITIVE LEATHER PROCESSING MACHINE. HE SENDS THE LEATHER THROUGH TWO WOODEN ROLLERS COVERED WITH EMERY PAPER.
CHAIM IS STRETCHING THE LEATHER ON A SPECIAL FRAME USING WOODEN PINCERS.
MOSHE, WINCING, IS SCRAPING OFF PIECES OF MEAT FROM A STRETCH OF WET LEATHER.
SHIMON IS HAMMERING FROZEN HIDES WITH A SMALL MALLET, PRYING PIECES APART AND THROWING THEM INTO A TUB OF WATER.
RAV ASHLAG OCCASIONALLY HITS THE METAL FRAME WITH HIS SCRAPER.
THE CHIME RESONATES DULLY INSIDE THE SHED.
***
EVERYONE IS SITTING BY A LONG TABLE IN THE CORNER OF THE SHED.
BARUCH TAKES FOOD OUT OF A BASKET AND LAYS IT ON THE TABLE: BREAD, EGGS,ONIONS, AND WATER.
RAV ASHLAG RECITES A BLESSING OVER THE BREAD AND BEGINS TO EAT.
SUDDENLY MOSHE GROANS, TRIES TO STAND UP, BUT CAN'T DO IT IN TIME. HE THROWS UP ON THE TABLE.
SHIMON TAKES HIM TO THE SIDE.
MOSHE CONTINUES TO VOMIT, NONSTOP.
BARUCH QUIETLY WIPES OFF THE TABLE.
RAV ASHLAG EATS AS IF NOTHING HAD HAPPENED.
SHIMON AND MOSHE RETURN TO THE TABLE.
MOSHE SITS DOWN AND CLOSES HIS EYES IN EXHAUSTION.
Moshe: Why do we have to work so hard in all this filth? Do we really have to?
Rav Ashlag: I warned you that it wouldn’t be easy.
Moshe: But we could have found something cleaner because…
Rav Ashlag: This is the cleanest job there is.
Chaim: How come - I always wanted to ask you – how come the Torah is inscribed on leather – dirty, stinking, leather?
RAV ASHLAG PUSHES AWAY THE EMPTY PLATE AND STRAIGHTENS HIS BACK.
- Because the Torah exists only for correction.
HE LOOKS AT CHAIM.
- Do you understand it?! (and without letting him answer, he continues): If you want to be purified, scrape away all the evil in which you live. Only then will you be ready to unlock the Torah. It is a guide on how to purify your self, a cleansing guide. By no means is it a book of stories. It is a path from you to the Creator.
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS AROUND.
- This path goes through all this filth, he concludes [55].
EVERYONE IS SILENT.
THE SOUND OF WATER DRIPPING SOMEWHERE.
BEYOND THE WINDOWS - LIFE GOES ON.
INSIDE, ALL IS QUIET.
RAV ASHLAG CLOSES HIS EYES AND SUDDENLY STARTS TO SING.
IT IS THE SAME MELODY THAT WAS SUNG IN BARUCH'S HOUSE AND IN KOTZK – “MORDECHAI YOSEF.”
QUIETLY, EVERYONE JOINS IN ON THE SINGING, THEIR ARMS EMBRACING EACH OTHER’S SHOULDERS.
THEY ARE ALL TOGETHER, IN PERFECT UNITY, AT THAT MOMENT.
PASSERSBY PEEK THROUGH THE HOLES IN THE WINDOWS.
THEY SEE A GROUP OF JEWS, HUDDLED TOGETHER, HUGGING, ROCKING SILENTLY WITH EYES CLOSED.
THE DOOR TO THE SHED OPENS CAREFULLY.
A SHORT MAN WITH A POSTMAN’S BAG SLUNG AROUND HIS SHOULDER ENTERS THE WORKSHOP.
HE STANDS THERE, UNSURE IF HE SHOULD DISTURB THE MOMENT.
THE SONG SLOWLY AND GENTLY COMES TO AN END.
FOR A FEW MORE MOMENTS, EVERYONE IS SITTING WITH THEIR EYES CLOSED.
FINALLY THE POSTMAN LETS OUT A SHY COUGH.
Postman: Sorry to interrupt, but the matter is quite urgent.
ALL TURN TO HIM.
Postman (to Rav Ashlag): Are you Rav Ashlag?
Rav Ashlag: I'm listening.
Postman: Great, I've been searching for you since morning. I was at your place and your wife sent me here. Lenin is looking for you. Can this be?
Rav Ashlag: It's possible.
Postman: I was convinced someone was pulling my leg. They said: “Lenin is on the line.” (He walks inside the workshop, speaking briskly, with excitement, addressing everyone.) Well, I know who Lenin is. All my relatives are there. I speak Russian and write it, of course, and so I replied in Russian: “Listen, this machine was not made for practical jokes, you know. It is very expensive. This is the post office you’re speaking with.”
Rav Ashlag (interrupting him): What did they say?
Postman: That Lenin is going to call you (looks at his watch) in half an hour.
RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP PROMPTLY AND WALKS TOWARD THE DOOR.
THE POSTMAN PATTERS AFTER HIM IN SMALL STEPS.
Postman: They set up the device only yesterday, and suddenly… Lenin.
***
A BRIGHT DAY IN A LIVELY JERUSALEM STREET.
RAV ASHLAG IS MARCHING ALONG WITH THE POSTMAN.
BARUCH, MOSHE, CHAIM AND SHIMON ARE HAVING A HARD TIME KEEPING UP.
THEY APPROACH THE POST OFFICE.
***
POST OFFICE.
RAV ASHLAG IS STANDING IN FRONT OF A SHINY NEW TELEGRAPH MACHINE.
THE POSTMAN LOOKS AT HIS WATCH.
- They said they are going to call at two in the afternoon sharp, but you know, it's not as if they are calling from Tel Aviv. There, it's two o'clock exactly.
THE HANDS OF THE CLOCK SHOW TWO O’CLOCK EXACTLY.
A SECOND LATER THE TELEGRAPH STARTS SPEWING LINES ON A RIBBON.
RAV ASHLAG READS: “I NEED TO SPEAK TO ASHLAG. LENIN.”
RAV ASHLAG NODS TO THE POSTMAN:
- Please write: “Good afternoon, Lenin. This is Ashlag.”
THE POSTMAN QUICKLY TYPES AND WHISPERS IN DISBELIEF:
- I can’t believe it. It’s Lenin himself!
- “Finally, I tracked you down,” – Lenin responds.
- “How are you feeling?” – dictates Rav Ashlag.
- “I am dying. But believe me, it's not the worst that could happen.”
GORKI, 10KM SOUTH OF MOSCOW, RUSSIA.
A LARGE WINDOW OVERLOOKING SNOWCAPPED FIR TREES.
BEHIND THEM, A WHITE FOREST.
A BLUE COBWEB OF VEINS COVERS A PALE SKINNY HAND ON AN ARMREST.
LENIN IS SITTING IN HIS ROCKING CHAIR WITH A DUVET ACROSS HIS LEGS.
SUNK ABOVE HIS HOLLOW CHEEKS, HIS EYES ARE FOGGY AND FEVERISH.
HE DICTATES IN A WEAK VOICE.
A YOUNG TELEGRAPH PUNCHER PROMPTLY TYPES.
- “You were right. I don't know what else to do now.”
- “You cannot change anything now,” - replies Rav Ashlag - ”terror is afoot.”
***
JERUSALEM.
- “Is it really going to be so terrible there?” – asks the Postman anxiously.
- “Just type!” – responds Rav Ashlag.
THE POSTMAN TYPES QUICKLY.
- “Lenin, you missed the main point. Man cannot change his nature on his own. It's impossible. A man is born and dies an egoist.”
***
GORKI.
LENIN SUDDENLY STIFFENS IN HIS CHAIR.
HIS THIN HAND TREMBLES.
- “I wanted to build a new, better world.” – his voice grows louder. – “Doesn't your Creator want people to be happy?”
- “He wants just that. But why did you want to build such a world?”
LENIN, WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES, SCREAMS AT THE TOP OF HIS WEAK LUNGS:
- “So that everyone would be equal! So there would be no more rich and poor! A just and pure world! Why didn't He let me do that?!”
- “Egoists can't build a just world. They can only build an unjust world - for themselves.”
THE TELEGRAPH PUNCHER IS LOOKING AT LENIN, WAITING FOR HIS RESPONSE.
LENIN SAYS QUIETLY:
- “What will happen to me now, Ashlag? To all of us? To everything that we have done here?”
SHE TYPES.
***
JERUSALEM. THE TELEGRAPH RIBBON SNAKES THROUGH RAV ASHLAG’S HANDS.
THE POSTMAN LOOKS AT RAV ASHLAG.
HIS STUDENTS ARE WATCHING HIM INTENTLY.
- “Everything will be fine,” – he says. – “Humanity will go through dead ends, pain, and suffering. And in the end it will build a just world, a world of love, without hatred.”
RAV ASHLAG STOPS TALKING.
THE POSTMAN’S FINGERS STOP.
- “Unfortunately, it will involve much suffering.”
HE WALKS TO THE WINDOW.
- “The world doesn’t listen. (He is talking to himself, but the Postman still types his words.) People can’t understand that there is a path of Light,” - says Rav Ashlag. –“They aren’t hearing me… yet.”
MOSHE, CHAIM, BARUCH, AND SHIMON EXCHANGE GLANCES.
RAV ASHLAG IS STANDING QUIETLY NEAR THE WINDOW.
IT’S A SUNNY DAY IN JERUSALEM.
***
GORKI.
THE TELEGRAPH RIBBON DIES AWAY ON THE TABLE.
LENIN SINKS BACK INTO HIS ROCKING CHAIR, EXHAUSTED.
- Yes, I understand… and still, I'm afraid to die, Ashlag.
SNOW IS FALLING OUTSIDE.
LENIN CLOSES HIS EYES.
- Farewell…
JERUSALEM.
THE WRIGGLING OF THE TELEGRAPH RIBBON COMES TO A HALT.
RAV ASHLAG DICTATES THE LAST TWO WORDS:
- “Farewell… Lenin.”
- Rav Ashlag, - the Postman breaks the silence. - All my relatives are there.
- Tell them to get out of there any way they can and come here. - Rav Ashlag replies.
***
NIGHT.
RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
NEAT NARROW LINES FLOW OUT OF THE TIP OF A QUILL.
RAV ASHLAG IS WHISPERING.
Rav Ashlag’s voice:
“…but for a single grave sin that could not be forgiven unto them, namely that the precious work they undertook of coming to love thy neighbor as thyself should have been for the sake of merging with the Creator in the name of that exalted law of love, which envelops us as a womb envelopes an embryo. Instead, they did it for their own egoistic ends.”
HIS HAND KEEPS WRITING.
WE HEAR RAV ASHLAG’S VOICE:
- “But had the Creator Himself been the purpose, then without a doubt they would have risen in just a few short years above all the other nations of the world put together and would have revealed the great land of love, the land of the Creator.”
THE DAWN IS BREAKING.
THE QUILL IS RESTING ON A DENSELY FILLED SHEET OF PAPER.
ITS TITLE READS, “THE PEACE.”
RAV ASHLAG IS ASLEEP, HIS HEAD RESTING ON HIS ARMS.
Baruch’s voice: Father!
RAV ASHLAG RAISES HIS HEAD.
HE SEES HIS SON, BARUCH, LEANING OVER HIM.
Rav Ashlag: Why did you let me sleep?
Baruch: We felt sorry for you. You’ve been up all night, and we have to get to work in less than an hour…
Rav Ashlag (sternly): This is none of your business. I ordered you not to let me fall asleep!
***
THE TANNERY.
RAV ASHLAG IS SCRAPING RAWHIDE WITH AN IRON SCRAPER.
DROPLETS OF SWEAT RAIN DOWN ON HIS GRIME-COVERED HANDS.
EVERYONE IS WORKING SILENTLY AND IN UNISON.
THE DUST-FILLED AIR IS DIFFUSING THE RAYS OF THE MORNING SUN, COMING IN THROUGH THE HOLES IN THE WINDOW.
***
JERUSALEM. A BITTER COLD WIND BLOWS IN THE FACES OF RAV ASHLAG,
BARUCH, CHAIM, MOSHE, AND SHIMON AS THEY WALK ALONG THE CITY WALLS.
THEY ARE BUNDLED HELPLESSLY UNDER THEIR THIN COATS THAT DO LITTLE TO FEND OFF THE BITING CHILL.
MOSHE AND SHIMON BREAK OFF, TURNING INTO ONE OF THE ALLEYS.
***
RAV ASHLAG AND BARUCH ENTER THEIR HOUSE.
RIVKA IS STANDING FACING THE WINDOW AND DOESN'T TURN TO GREET THEM.
BAT SHEVA IS SITTING QUIETLY BEHIND A CURTAIN.
AN UNUSUAL, DEAFENING SILENCE HANGS IN THE AIR.
RAV ASHLAG NOTICES AN OPEN LETTER IN RIVKA'S HAND.
HE TAKES IT AND READS IT QUICKLY.
HIS EYES STOP ON THE LAST LINE OF THE LETTER:
“We couldn’t do anything to help them. The doctors were powerless. They died quietly, one after the other… without you.”
HIS HAND BEGINS TO SHAKE.
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS UP AT RIVKA.
THEY STAND THERE IN SILENCE FOR LONG WHILE.
BARUCH COMES UP TO HIS FATHER'S SIDE.
Baruch: What happened?!
Rav Ashlag (to Rivka): You are blaming me for this, aren’t you?
Rivka (quietly): Yes, I am.
Rav Ashlag: Do you think we could have taken them with us?
Rivka: No…
SHE TURNS AROUND TO LOOK AT HER HUSBAND.
Rivka (a quiet moan arises from deep within her): I felt that something terrible was going to happen. What can I do with this feeling now? Huh? Tell me! You are so wise, you know everything, you are in contact with Him. Ask Him, why He had to take our babies away!?
Baruch (exclaims): What?!
RIVKA STARTS TO CRY.
RAV ASHLAG REMAINS NEXT TO HER AND DOESN'T ATTEMPT TO SOOTHE HER.
OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, TWO BIRDS ARE PERCHED ON A TREE BRANCH.
Rivka (rocking from side to side, her voice breaking down): David was begging me to take him with us, and Bracha… I will never forget her eyes when we were leaving. I knew that something was going to happen, and still… I left them there.
BARUCH SLUMPS DOWN ON A WOODEN STOOL.
HE IS WEEPING SOUNDLESSLY.
RAV ASHLAG IS QUIET.
Rivka: I always repeated: "There is none else besides Him," but now, when disaster strikes, I can't justify Him. How come, Yehuda?
RAV ASHLAG HOLDS HER.
HIS HAND IS GENTLY STROKING HER SHOULDER.
Rav Ashlag: It’s because you can't see the joy of the soul. You can see the death of the body, but can’t see the soul that is moving ever closer to the Creator. With each life cycle, it comes closer and closer. When the body comes into the world or leaves it, those are His calculations. And trust Him, they are always accurate.
BARUCH WIPES HIS TEARS WITH A DIRTY SLEEVE AND LOOKS AT HIS FATHER.
RAV ASHLAG IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW.
THE TWO BIRDS TAKE OFF FROM THE BRANCH IN UNISON.
HE FOLLOWS THEM WITH HIS GAZE AS THEY GLIDE ACROSS THE STREET, OVER THE HEADS OF A BOY AND GIRL WHO ARE WALKING ALONG.
THE GIRL IS HOLDING THE BOY'S HAND TIGHTLY.
THEY BOTH TURN TO LOOK AT RAV ASHLAG.
THEY SMILE AND WAVE THEIR HANDS AT HIM.
RAV ASHLAG NODS TO THEM.
RIVKA GLANCES UP AT HIM, HER EYES FULL OF TEARS, THEN SHE TURNS TO LOOK OUT THROUGH THE WINDOW.
Rivka: What do you see out there?
Rav Ashlag: Life… going on. (Turning to her) You are strong. You are the strongest woman in the whole world! Just trust Him.
SHE RESTS HER HEAD ON HIS CHEST.
HE CARESSES HER IN SILENCE.
THEY STAND THERE TOGETHER FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
BARUCH IS SITTING QUIETLY BY THE WALL.
THE WIND INTENSIFIES.
THE GLASS IN THE WINDOW SHAKES AND TREMBLES.
IT IS GETTING DARKER BEHIND THE WINDOW.
THEY CONTINUE TO STAND TOGETHER.
NIGHT FALLS.
THEY ARE STILL STANDING THERE, PRESSED AGAINST EACH OTHER.
HE DOESN’T LET GO OF HER.
SHE, TOO, IS AFRAID TO LET GO OF HIM.
RIVKA WATCHES THE CLOCK HAND MOVING.
IT IS MIDNIGHT.
SHE PULLS BACK FROM HER HUSBAND, WIPES HER TEARS, AND LOOKS INTO HIS EYES.
Rivka: Please forgive me. You have to be up for lesson in an hour and you didn’t get any sleep. Forgive me, Yehuda. I can cope with this. Eventually I will, but not all at once. Will you bear with me?
Rav Ashlag: It’s not easy for us, but we will persevere. We will carry on, Rivka, because we are together.
SHE MOVES AWAY FROM HER HUSBAND TO THE CORNER OF THE ROOM AND RETURNS WITH A SMALL PLATE OF SIMPLE FOOD.
SHE PUTS IT ON THE TABLE.
Rivka: Sit down and eat, you are tired.
***
THE NIGHTLY LESSON.
RAV ASHLAG IS SITTING IN FRONT OF HIS FOUR STUDENTS IN SILENCE.
THE STUDENTS ARE EXCHANGING GLANCES.
BARUCH COMES UP TO HIS FATHER, WHISPERS SOMETHING IN HIS EAR, AND WAITS FOR AN ANSWER.
Rav Ashlag (loud and clear): There is only one reason, Baruch, why the lesson can be canceled… (Stands up) only in case of the death of the body.
RAV ASHLAG IS PACING FROM ONE WALL TO THE OTHER, TAKING BIG STEPS AS USUAL.
Rav Ashlag: Bodies come and go. The soul remains the same. The same souls come into different bodies over thousands of life cycles.
THE STUDENTS FOLLOW HIM WITH THEIR EYES AS HE PACES FROM WALL TO WALL.
IT FEELS AS IF HE IS TELLING THIS TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN THEM.
SHIMON DARES TO RAISE HIS HAND.
RAV ASHLAG STOPS AND LOOKS AT HIM.
Shimon: What's the point of this endless exchange of bodies?
Rav Ashlag: To purify the will to receive of self-love and fully arrive at love for your neighbor.
ALL ARE LOOKING AT RAV ASHLAG.
HE TURNS TO THE WINDOW.
Rav Ashlag: I'm leaving with my family to Givat Shaul [56] tomorrow.
Moshe: But what about our lessons?!
Rav Ashlag: The lessons continue as usual.
Moshe: But from here to Givat Shaul it’s…
Rav Ashlag: An hour’s walk.
Moshe: People say that it's impossible to make it alive at night from here to Givat Shaul. (Looks at his friends)
Rav Ashlag: Unless you walk together.
EVERYBODY LOOKS AT THEIR TEACHER.
Rav Ashlag: Lesson starts at 1 a.m. sharp.
***
EARLY MORNING. JERUSALEM.
A WAGON IS RIDING ALONG A DESERTED ROAD.
IT'S PULLED BY A DONKEY.
RIVKA AND THE CHILDREN ARE SITTING IN THE WAGON IN SILENCE.
RAV ASHLAG AND HIS FOUR STUDENTS ARE FOLLOWING THE WAGON ON FOOT.
***
GIVAT SHAUL.
BABY IN HAND, RIVKA IS STANDING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EMPTY APARTMENT.
THE PAINT ON THE WALLS IS PEELING, THE FLOOR IS DIRTY, AND THE WINDOWS OVERLOOK A ROCKY, SEMI-ARID LAND.
THE WIND IS HOWLING UNDER THE BEAMS OF THE ROOF.
RAV ASHLAG IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW.
HE WATCHES HIS STUDENTS PLODDING BACK ON THE NARROW TRAIL.
***
GIVAT SHAUL. NIGHT.
RAV ASHLAG’S HOUSE IS SILHOUETTED AGAINST THE DARK STARRY SKYLINE.
A KEROSENE LAMP STANDS LIT IN THE WINDOW.
***
RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
A HAND POURS A LARGE CUP OF COFFEE.
A CIGARETTE IS BURNING IN AN ASHTRAY FULL OF STUBS.
UNDER THE TABLE, RAV ASHLAG'S FEET SIT IN A WASHBASIN OF ICE WATER.
ROWS OF NEAT LINES FLOW OUT FROM HIS QUILL.
***
NIGHT. JERUSALEM.
THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE OLD CITY.
A DARK OPEN STRETCH OF WILDERNESS SEPARATES THE LAST ROW OF HOUSES FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF GIVAT SHAUL.
MOSHE AND SHIMON ARE STANDING ON A NARROW PATH PAST THE LAST HOUSE.
THE PATH DISAPPEARS IN THE DARKNESS AHEAD OF THEM.
Moshe: How much longer can we wait for him?!
Shimon: Just a few more minutes.
Moshe: He won't come. We have to go.
Shimon: And what if he does? How will he get there alone?
SILENCE.
THEY WAIT.
SUDDENLY A JACKAL HOWL SHATTERS THE SILENCE. IT IS COMING FROM NEARBY.
MOSHE AND SHIMON SPRINT BACK TOWARD THE HOUSES.
Moshe’s voice: To hell with him! I saw yesterday how his hands were shaking. He is not here, and it means that he doesn’t want to come to the lesson. That’s it. Let’s go.
MOSHE AND SHIMON AMBLE SLOWLY ALONG THE CITY WALLS.
WE CAN HEAR THE PATTER OF THEIR FEET.
THEY FREEZE. THEY PRESS THEIR BACKS TO THE WALL AND STAND THERE, AFRAID TO BREATHE.
SOMEWHERE A NOCTURNAL PREDATOR IS TEARING APART ITS PREY IN THE DARKNESS.
WE CAN HEAR ITS FEROCIOUS GROWLS.
MOSHE AND SHIMON ARE UNABLE TO MOVE.
FINALLY SHIMON TAKES THE FIRST STEP FORWARD AND IMMEDIATELY A RASPY VOICE COMMANDS THEM TO STOP.
A BRITISH PATROL APPEARS FROM THE DARKNESS.
THE TWO BRITISH SOLDIERS LOOK CLOSELY AT THE JEWS.
British soldier #1 (in English): Where are you heading?
Shimon: Givat Shaul.
British soldier #1: Why at this time?
Shimon: Our teacher holds his lessons at night.
British soldier #1: How come?
Shimon: We work during the day.
British soldier #2 (shaking his head, addressing the first one): A lesson at night… – I can’t figure those Jews out… (To Chaim.) You have to be in your warm bed at night, next to your warm wife… O-o-oh well, best not to think about it…
British soldier #1 (handing back the papers): Well, on you go.
MOSHE AND SHIMON CONTINUE PAST THE PATROL AND DISAPPEAR INTO THE NIGHT.
FROM FURTHER DOWN WE HEAR THE VOICE OF BRITISH SOLDIER #1:
- What are you studying?
Shimon’s voice from the dark (in Hebrew): The wisdom of Kabbalah.
Voice of British soldier #1: What’s that?
Moshe’s voice: It’s about how to see the Creator.
British soldier #1: Ah…ha…
Voice of British soldier #2: You better watch your backs. We are the last patrol. Abu Khalif and his gang are out tonight. If they catch you, they will send you to meet your Creator.
THE SOLDIERS LAUGH.
***
OPEN WILDERNESS.
TWO SILHOUETTES ARE MOVING THROUGH THE NIGHT.
ALL IS QUIET BUT THEIR SOFT FOOTSTEPS.
A BARELY VISIBLE NARROW PATH UNFOLDS BENEATH THEM, LEADING THEM TOWARD A DARK CLUSTER OF HOUSES.
SUDDENLY, A HYENA LAUGHS JUST A FEW FEET AHEAD.
MOSHE AND SHIMON FREEZE IN MID-STEP.
THE DARK OUTLINE OF THE HYENA CAN BE SEEN CROSSING THEIR PATH, ONLY ITS RED EYES SHINE BACK AT THEM THROUGH THE DARKNESS.
THEY WALK ON.
NOW THEY START TO RUN.
WE CAN HEAR SOMEONE CHASING THEM.
A GRUFF VOICE COMMANDS THEM TO STOP, BUT THEY CAN ALREADY SEE THE HOUSES CLEARLY AND PRESS ONWARD.
***
RAV ASHLAG’S HOME.
SHIMON AND MOSHE RUSH INSIDE, SCARED TO DEATH.
RAV ASHLAG IS SITTING AT HIS TABLE, WRITING AS ALWAYS.
HE DOESN'T EVEN TURN TO GREET THEM.
THEY SIT DOWN ON THEIR CHAIRS, STRUGGLING TO CATCH THEIR BREATH.
Rav Ashlag: Where is Chaim?
Moshe: We waited for him, but he didn't show up.
RAV ASHLAG STOPS WRITING AND STARES AT MOSHE.
Moshe (unable to bear his stare): Why are you looking at me like this?! He didn’t come! Shimon, you tell him!
Shimon (hesitantly): Yes.
A GUNSHOT RINGS THROUGH THE NIGHT OUTSIDE.
THEY ALL TURN THEIR HEADS SHARPLY TO THE WINDOW.
***
NIGHT. ON THE EDGE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
A KNIFE’S BLADE GLISTENS FOR A SECOND IN THE LIGHT OF A DISTANT LAMP, BEFORE LASHING OUT TO MEET CHAIM'S THROAT.
HIS ADAM'S APPLE IS TREMBLING.
FROM THE COMPLETE DARKNESS COMES A THREATENING ARABIC VOICE:
- Your money, Jew!
Chaim: I have nothing, not even a penny!
The voice: We’ll see about that.
A HAND FEELS THROUGH CHAIM'S CLOTHES, SHAKING HIM THIS WAY AND THAT.
A ROUGH FACE WITH A HUGE UGLY SCAR ACROSS THE RIGHT CHEEK APPEARS FROM THE DARKNESS.
The Arab: What the f… (He brings his face close to Chaim's.) I know all you rich, fat, sly Jews can pretend to be naïve little sheep. But there’s a wolf hiding underneath there. You cannot lie to Abu Khalif!
Chaim (pleadingly): Please let me go.
Abu Khalif (harshly): Take off your clothes. Quickly!
Chaim: I beg of you, please don't kill me!
THE KNIFE PRESSES HARDER ON CHAIM'S THROAT.
CHAIM QUICKLY UNDRESSES.
Abu Khalif: Now pray, Jew!
CHAIM LOOKS INTO THE COLD EYES OF THE ARAB ROBBER.
Abu Khalif: Say your Jewish prayer for the last time!
CHAIM CLOSES HIS EYES. HIS LIPS UTTER A PRAYER.
***
RAV ASHLAG'S HOME.
RAV ASHLAG STILL HASN’T STARTED THE LESSON.
HE CLOCK SHOWS QUARTER PAST ONE.
SUDDENLY THE SOUND OF RUNNING FEET COME FROM THE OUTSIDE.
THE DOOR OPENS AND CHAIM, WEARING NOTHING BUT HIS SOCKS AND UNDERPANTS, RUNS IN.
HE IS SHUDDERING FROM COLD AND FROM FEAR, HIS KNEES BUCKLE, AND HE FALLS ONTO THE CLOSEST CHAIR.
RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP, WALKS UP TO HIM, TAKES OFF HIS COAT, AND PUTS IT ON HIS QUIVERING SHOULDERS. HE THEN TAKES OFF HIS WOOL HAT AND PUTS IT ON CHAIM'S HEAD.
Rav Ashlag: Were you scared?
Chaim (faltering): He made me take off my clothes, put his knife to my throat, and told me to pray. (His voice quivers and he looks up at Rav Ashlag) I wanted so much to be with all of you in the lesson. I prayed for that. I opened my eyes and he was gone.
Rav Ashlag (looking at all of them): We shall have a meal now. (Turns to Baruch standing by the wall) Set the table.
***
THE TABLE IS SET. THE MEAL CONSISTS OF A PLATE WITH SLICED ONIONS, HALF A BOTTLE OF UNREFINED OLIVE OIL, HALF A LOAF OF PUMPERNICKEL BREAD, AND A BOTTLE OF VODKA.
IN FRONT OF EACH MAN IS A HEAVY VODKA GLASS FILLED TO THE RIM.
Rav Ashlag: I promised to reveal to you the secret of how to unite with the Creator, how to enter His land.
HIS STUDENTS ARE WATCHING HIM, THEIR EYES RED WITH EXHAUSTION.
RAV ASHLAG RAISES HIS GLASS OF VODKA.
HE IS SILENT FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, THEN HE LOOKS STRAIGHT AT SHIMON.
SHIMON LOWERS HIS EYES.
Rav Ashlag: You will get there on one condition only.
Chaim (mumbles): I wanted so much to be at the lesson today…
Rav Ashlag: If you unite your hearts into one. (Looks at Shimon) I will not tire of repeating this to you. This is the only condition!
SHIMON CAN BARELY HOLD BACK HIS TEARS.
HIS LIPS ARE TREMBLING.
Rav Ashlag: If you dissolve into each other. (He rests his gaze on each of his students) If you establish mutual guarantee among you.
SHIMON COVERS HIS FACE WITH HIS HANDS.
Rav Ashlag: If you can see beyond your friend’s wretched body, and into the huge desire burning within him, only then will your “I” surrender and you will unite.
Chaim: Can we do it?!
Baruch: We can!
Rav Ashlag: Can you do it?
Moshe (clearly): We will!
ONLY SHIMON DOES NOT ANSWER. HE IS SILENT, STARING AT THE FLOOR.
EVERYONE TURNS TO HIM.
SUDDENLY HE JUMPS UP FROM HIS SEAT, SCREAMING:
Shimon: We will never be able to do it! We can't! Why are we lying to ourselves! We are weak! We are miserable! We cannot become brothers because we cannot overcome our fear and envy, because we are so… so full of shit - scum, living just for ourselves! (He is gasping, looking around) We’re not cut out for this! No…! We can’t enter that place where we aspire. We… (whispering) we are such…
SHIMON SITS DOWN AND COVERS HIS HEAD WITH HIS HANDS.
EVERYONE IS WATCHING RAV ASHLAG.
HE IS SIPPING VODKA SLOWLY FROM HIS GLASS.
EVERYONE IS WATCHING HIM, WAITING TO SEE WHAT HE WILL SAY.
HE PUTS HIS GLASS DOWN.
Rav Ashlag: The lesson starts now.
HE PICKS UP THE BOOK AND OPENS IT.
Chaim (to Rav Ashlag): Won't you answer Shimon?
Moshe (through his teeth): Weakling!
Shimon (lifting his head, his eyes are full of tears): Forgive me…
Moshe: If not for people like you… Be a man!
Chaim: Hang in there, Shimon!
Shimon: Forgive me, I will try. (Looks at Rav Ashlag) Just don't send me away.
Rav Ashlag: We begin our lesson. The Zohar will lead you to the Creator.
HE LOOKS AT SHIMON AND UTTERS LOUDLY SO THAT EVERYONE CAN HEAR HIM:
- I envy you.
HE THEN LOOKS AT EACH OF THEM.
- I am warning you: not a single thought about yourselves. We are speaking of the most precious thing one can have, and that’s why your responsibility is so heavy.
THEY LOOK AT HIM, HANGING ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH.
-You won’t be let in easily. The main condition is - not a single thought about yourselves! Not even one! If you succeed, you’ll break through.
THEIR EYES ARE AFLAME.
EACH WORD PENETRATES LIKE A SPEAR.
- Each of you has to tell himself: “We are connecting into one great desire.”
RAV ASHLAG LOOKS AT THE WALL IN FRONT OF HIM.
- And we won’t leave You, - he says.
HE STOPS TALKING.
THEY WAIT MOTIONLESS.
- Great sages – they hear Rav Ashlag’s voice, - connected into a single spiritual pyramid and then wrote The Book of Zohar. If we unite, we’ll break through.
***
SUDDENLY, THE CLASSROOM DISAPPEARS.
RAV ASHLAG IS WALKING ALONG A PATH.
HIS STUDENTS ARE FOLLOWING HIM, HOLDING THEIR BREATH [57], LOOKING AROUND THEM IN DISBELIEF.
- All of this is inside of us, - they hear Rav Ashlag’s voice.
ENDLESS ROWS OF VINEYARDS STRETCH OUT TO THE HORIZON.
CLUSTERS OF RIPE GRAPES BASK IN THE SUN.
AHEAD, TRANSLUCENT MOUNTAINS RISE MAJESTICALLY BEHIND A FOREST; CLEAR RIVERS CUT THROUGH THEIR SIDES AND MEET AT A CRYSTAL CLEAR LAKE.
PEACE AND SILENCE EVERYWHERE.
Rav Ashlag’s voice (warm and fatherly): Hang tight! Not a shadow of a thought about yourselves. You should be ready to give everything to each other.
RAV ASHLAG IS WALKING A STEP AHEAD OF THEM.
- Not a single thought about yourselves, - he repeats.
THEY STOP AND OBSERVE THIS MAGICAL WORLD WITH AWE AND EXCITEMENT.
MOSHE LEANS DOWN TO TOUCH A FLOWER.
Rav Ashlag’s voice: No-o!
FRIGHTENED, MOSHE STRAIGHTENS UP, TAKES A STEP FORWARD, AND BUMPS INTO AN INVISIBLE WALL.
THEY ALL MAKE A STEP FORWARD AND HIT THE WALL AS WELL.
THEY SEE HOW AHEAD OF THEM, RAV ASHLAG KEEPS WALKING TOWARD THE TREES.
THEY PUNCH THE INVISIBLE WALL IN VAIN.
RAV ASHLAG WALKS AWAY.
SCREAMING, THEY TRY TO SHATTER THE INVISIBLE WALL WITH THEIR FISTS.
THEIR FISTS BEGIN TO BLEED BUT THE WALL DOESN’T GIVE IN.
THEY HURL THEMSELVES AGAINST THE WALL SMEARING THEIR BLOOD ALL OVER IT.
THEIR MUFFLED SCREAMS CANNOT BE HEARD.
RAV ASHLAG IS ALREADY FAR OFF, ABOUT TO ENTER THE FOREST.
MOSHE GRABS A ROCK AND STARTS HITTING IT MADLY AGAINST THE INVISIBLE WALL.
THE ROCK SCATTERS AND SHARP CHIPS PIERCE THEIR FACES.
***
BACK IN JERUSALEM. A CLASSROOM.
RAV ASHLAG IS SITTING IN HIS PLACE.
MOSHE LOOKS AROUND AT EVERYBODY.
Moshe: What just happened?!
Chaim (stuttering): I’ve never felt anything like that in my life!
Moshe: Was this…?! (Looks at his hands, his friends, then turns his eyes to Rav Ashlag) We didn’t cross?
Rav Ashlag: You are unable to cross.
Moshe: So it was real!
Rav Ashlag: You saw yourselves as you truly are.
Moshe: You left us!
Rav Ashlag: I couldn’t help you.
Moshe: You did it on purpose!
Rav Ashlag: Nothing there is done on purpose.
Chaim: We were calling you, and you just walked away from us!
Rav Ashlag: Over there – you either cross or you don’t.
Moshe: But why, why, why didn’t we cross?
Rav Ashlag: Don’t you get it?
Moshe: No-o-o!
Chaim: We tried really hard. It was such a… such a great world. We tried our hardest.
Moshe: When we were bleeding, we called you, and you were just walking away, but you heard us?! You did, didn’t you?!
Rav Ashlag: Yes, I did.
Moshe: And yet you kept on walking!
Rav Ashlag: It was you who were moving away from me.
MOSHE MOANS IN HELPLESSNESS.
Baruch: What should we do?
Rav Ashlag: Conquer Pharaoh.
Baruch: How?!
Rav Ashlag: By realizing that it’s impossible to conquer him.
SILENCE. EVERYBODY IS LOOKING AT RAV ASHLAG.
Rav Ashlag: Only he with a broken heart arrives at a prayer and ultimately crosses.
SHIMON BEGINS TO SOB.
MOSHE STANDS UP AND GOES TO THE WINDOW.
HE STANDS THERE WITH HIS BACK TURNED TO EVERYBODY.
HIS SHOULDERS BEGIN TO QUIVER.
***
SUDDENLY, A FLASH OF LIGHT.
THEY SEE THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY AGAIN.
THE PATH IS RUNNING ACROSS GREEN HILLS.
RAV ASHLAG IS WALKING DOWN THE PATH.
IN FRONT OF HIM LIES THE WHITE CITY [58].
WE CAN HEAR CHILDREN'S LAUGHTER, SOFT VOICES, AND GENTLE MUSIC COMING FROM SOMEWHERE UP AHEAD, WHILE FROM BEHIND COME SCREAMS OF AGONY.
RAV ASHLAG STOPS AND HEARS HIS OWN VOICE.
Rav Ashlag’s voice: Don't turn around – keep walking!
HE REMAINS STANDING.
THE WHITE CITY IS JUST IN FRONT OF HIM.
BEHIND HIM, HIS BLEEDING STUDENTS ARE THRASHING AGAINST THE INVISIBLE WALL.
A DEER’S HEAD APPEARS FROM THE SHRUBBERY.
Rav Ashlag hears his own voice: Don't turn around!
THE DEER EMERGES FROM THE BUSHES AND STROLLS TOWARD RAV ASHLAG.
-The barriers you've put up are too high, says Rav Ashlag. They won't make it through.
IN THE DISTANCE, HIS STUDENTS ARE STILL BEATING AGAINST THE WALL, SHRIEKING.
THE DEER WALKS PAST RAV ASHLAG, THEN TURNS HIS HEAD TOWARD HIM.
The Voice: Leave them.
Rav Ashlag: I can't.
A BIRD LANDS ON A TREE BRANCH ABOVE HIS HEAD.
The Voice: Leave them.
Rav Ashlag: What is my purpose then?
A BUTTERFLY FLUTTERS BY.
The Voice: You want them to make it across?
Rav Ashlag: You created this world for them. Isn't that so?
THE BUTTERFLY LANDS ON A FLOWER.
The Voice: Turn around and watch!
RAV ASHLAG TURNS AROUND AND SEES THE INVISIBLE BARRIER IS NO LONGER HOLDING HIS STUDENTS BACK.
SHIMON IS THE FIRST TO BURST THROUGH.
HE TUMBLES TO THE GROUND, LIFTS HIS HEAD, AND JUMPS TO HIS FEET.
BARUCH, THEN CHAIM, THEN MOSHE FOLLOW HIM.
Rav Ashlag (whispering): Careful, friends, not a single thought about yourselves. Let each support the others.
***
FOR A MOMENT, WE ARE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM IN JERUSALEM.
SHIMON IS LEANING OVER THE BOOK. HE IS FOCUSED INTENTLY.
Shimon (mumbles): Not one thought about yourself… No… We are one whole [59].
Baruch: Not one thought about yourself.
Chaim: Not a thought.
***
A FLASH OF LIGHT.
THEY GET UP FROM THE GROUND AND LOOK AROUND, TAKING THEIR FIRST STEPS.
Rav Ashlag: Can I come closer to them?
RAV ASHLAG SEES THE FLOWER NODDING AT HIM WITH ITS BLUE PETALS.
He can hear his own voice: Wait. Look!
SUDDENLY RAV ASHLAG SEES MOSHE IGNITE LIKE A TORCH.
HE BURSTS INTO FIRE BEFORE HE HAS TIME TO SCREAM, AND THE BLAZE INCINERATES HIM IN AN INSTANT.
CHAIM TAKES A STEP BACK AND IS INCINERATED TOO.
SHIMON AND BARUCH TURN AROUND, BUT DON’T MAKE IT EITHER - THEY DISAPPEAR IN FLAMES.
FOUR SMOLDERING PILES OF ASHES REMAIN ON THE GROUND WHERE THEY WERE STANDING A MOMENT AGO.
IMMEDIATELY, WE ARE BACK IN THE CLASSROOM IN JERUSALEM.
THE STUDENTS, AS IF THUNDERSTRUCK, ARE UNABLE TO MOVE.
RAV ASHLAG COVERS HIS EYES WITH HIS HAND.
Shimon: We won’t make it?
Baruch: Help us… Father.
***
A FLASH OF LIGHT.
RAV ASHLAG IS STANDING ON A PATH, SURROUNDED BY EMERALD GREEN FIELDS, DOTTED WITH FLOWERS IN DAZZLING COLORS.
THE WHITE CITY LIES BEHIND HIM.
THE WIND BLOWS THE ASHES OFF THE PATH, CARESSING THE SEA OF TALL GRASS, CREATING RIPPLES AND WAVES.
RAV ASHLAG CAN HEAR HIS OWN VOICE:
- Have you seen it?
Rav Ashlag: Yes, I have.
The Voice: Do you still want it?
Rav Ashlag (looking at the ripples of green grass): You have made your world for them, so give me a chance to open it before them, even a little bit. Help them take the first step.
THE WIND DIES OUT.
The Voice: Well, you may try.
Rav Ashlag: Do I have your permission?!
- You do.
***
JERUSALEM. CLASSROOM.
RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP AND WALKS TO THE DOOR.
HE LEAVES THE CLASSROOM.
***
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD: 1926. FRENCH FASHION SHOWS; SOVIET RUSSIA MILITARY PARADES; EUGENE O'NEILL'S THE GREAT GOD BROWN OPENS AT THE GREENWICH THEATRE; ASTRONOMERS JUBILANT AT THE DISCOVERY OF THE “COMAS SOLA” COMET; A COUP D'ÉTAT IN PORTUGAL INSTALLS THE DITADURA NACIONAL (NATIONAL DICTATORSHIP); THE WARNER BROTHERS' VITAPHONE SYSTEM PREMIERES WITH THE MOVIE, DON JUAN, STARRING JOHN BARRYMORE; AGATHA CHRISTIE DISAPPEARS FROM HER HOME IN SURREY; SHE IS FOUND AT THE HARROGATE HOTEL.
***
ALL THESE SCENES BLEND INTO THE JERUSALEM NIGHT.
THE LIGHT IS ON IN RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
WE CAN SEE HIM PACING FROM WALL TO WALL.
SUDDENLY HE STOPS, SITS DOWN AT HIS DESK, AND BEGINS TO WRITE.
***
AGAIN, DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE:
DANCE MARATHONS IN THE UNITED STATES; GRAND OPENINGS OF NEW RESTAURANTS; HOLLYWOOD STARS ENJOYING THEMSELVES; THE PUBLIC’S SQUEALS AS IT GREETS RUDOLPH VALENTINO; ELEPHANTS ARE MERCILESSLY HUNTED IN AFRICA; SIGMUND FREUD STARTS HIS EXPERIMENTS; BOXERS IN A RING EXCHANGE BLOWS BEFORE A WILD CHEERING AUDIENCE; HITLER IS DRINKING WITH HIS FRIENDS; MUSSOLINI IS ELECTED IN ITALY.
***
JERUSALEM. RAV ASHLAG’S ROOM. NIGHT.
HIS HAND BRINGS THE MANUSCRIPT TO THE KEROSENE LAMP.
THE PAPER BURNS WITH A CRACKLE AS THE FIRE EATS AWAY AT ROWS OF LETTERS.
WE SEE ITS REFLECTION IN RAV ASHLAG'S EYES.
Baruch screams: Father, what are you doing?!
Rav Ashlag: It's not good. No one will understand it.
***
RAV ASHLAG'S HOME. A LIVING ROOM.
A ROUGH WOODEN TABLE, RAV ASHLAG AT ITS HEAD.
RIVKA IS SITTING BY HIS SIDE, PREGNANT WITH ANOTHER BABY.
SEVEN KIDS SIT AROUND THE TABLE, EATING SILENTLY.
ON EACH PLATE IS BUT ONE POTATO, HALF AN ONION, AND A LITTLE PIECE OF BREAD.
RIVKA PASSES HER POTATO TO HER THREE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER.
THE GIRL EATS IT EAGERLY.
SUDDENLY, RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP AND WALKS TO THE WINDOW.
HE SEES A MAN STANDING IN THE STREET, WATCHING HIM CLOSELY.
THE MAN WEARS AN EXPENSIVE DOUBLE-BREASTED SUIT.
HE STANDS OUT IN THIS POOR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THE MAN GESTURES TO RAV ASHLAG WITH HIS HAND.
RAV ASHLAG OPENS THE WINDOW.
The man: Don't you recognize me, teacher?
Rav Ashlag (taking a closer look): Aaron?!
Aaron (smiling): Yes. Will you let me in?
Rav Ashlag: What are you doing here?
Aaron: I've become rich and came to ask for your forgiveness.
Rav Ashlag: Come on up.
RAV ASHLAG'S HOME. RAV ASHLAG AND AARON ARE SITTING AT THE TABLE.
AARON'S FACE IS A PALE YELLOW, WITH DARK CIRCLES AROUND HIS EYES.
RIVKA IS WATCHING FROM THE SIDE.
Aaron: You left and I stayed behind, cursing myself for being such a coward. I couldn't shake off the feeling that I had betrayed you. Oh, if only you knew how many nights I cried because of it. Finally, I decided to leave everything and travel to you, to ask for forgiveness, and to stay by your side forever. And then it happened. I received my inheritance. I knew it would happen, I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. My rich uncle had died in England and left everything he had to me on the condition that I move to England. Suddenly, I realized what a great mission the Creator had charged me with. I understood that all my previous decisions had been correct. It wasn't I who had made them! (Pause) And now I am here.
Rav Ashlag: Why?
Aaron: I know that you don't have enough money to publish your books (Looking at Rivka) and barely enough to support your family.
Rav Ashlag (cutting him off): One needs to be satisfied with but the necessary.
Aaron: How much money do you need?
Rav Ashlag: Enough to provide modest food for my household, and for ink and paper.
Aaron: How much is that?
Rivka: A little. He has been writing on paper scraps for a while now, and the children haven’t had a proper meal for a long time.
AARON TAKES OUT A STACK OF BANK NOTES FROM HIS SIDE POCKET AND LAYS IT ON THE TABLE.
Aaron: I want you to write such a book that everyone could understand, even idiots like myself. Is it possible?
Rav Ashlag: I have to try.
Aaron: I am leaving you enough money to live on and to write. Here. (He pushes the money closer to Rav Ashlag.)
Rav Ashlag: Do you have a place in London?
Aaron: Yes, a big three-story house. (He takes out a vial with pills and pops one in his mouth.)
Rav Ashlag: I will do my writing there.
Aaron (surprised, looks at Rivka and at Rav Ashlag): I didn't think it possible. It's a great honor.
Rav Ashlag: I will leave this money to my family.
Rivka (quickly): But it's way too much.
Aaron: Nonsense! I will leave more. But… (Looks at Rivka) your wife is pregnant.
RAV ASHLAG TURNS TO LOOK AT RIVKA.
Rivka (to him): Don't worry. I will be fine.
Rav Ashlag: I must go.
Rivka: You will be able to write quietly over there.
Rav Ashlag: I need some quiet.
Rivka: Go, we will pray for you from here.
***
ISRAEL, PORT OF JAFFA [60].
A WHITE SHIP IS GETTING READY TO SET SAIL.
RAV ASHLAG AND HIS STUDENTS ARE STANDING BY THE SHIP'S GANGWAY.
ALL ARE CALLED ABOARD.
RAV ASHLAG HUGS EVERYONE.
HE HUGS BARUCH AND WHISPERS:
-I'll be waiting for your letters.
HE HUGS CHAIM, MOSHE, AND SHIMON.
Shimon: You are leaving on purpose. You could've written here.
RAV ASHLAG TURNS AROUND AND STARTS TO WALK UP THE LADDER.
Shimon: It will be hard for us without you.
RAV ASHLAG WALKS WITHOUT TURNING BACK.
Shimon: Impossibly hard!
Moshe (interrupts him): Let the Rav go! Stop whining! (To Rav Ashlag) Don't worry, we will be fine.
RAV ASHLAG HAS ALREADY BOARDED.
HE IS STANDING NEXT TO AARON, WHO IS LEANING ON THE HANDRAIL.
THE SHIP SETS SAIL.
SHIMON IS THE FIRST TO TURN AROUND AND LEAVE.
***
THE SHIP CUTS THROUGH THE WAVES.
RAV ASHLAG IS SITTING ON DECK WRAPPED IN A DUVET.
***
DOCUMENTARY FOOTAGE:
1926 ENGLAND… PRETTY, FLOURISHING.
A CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF THE QUEEN.
A FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, LLOYD GEORGE, MEETS WITH WINSTON CHURCHILL. THEY ARE FEEDING SEAGULLS BY THE SEASIDE.
THE BIRTH OF FUTURE QUEEN OF ENGLAND, ELIZABETH II.
***
A THREE-STORY HOUSE ON A QUIET LONDON STREET.
THE WINDOW ON THE SECOND FLOOR IS OPEN.
***
RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
RAV ASHLAG IS SITTING BY HIS DESK.
SMOKE RISES FROM AN ASHTRAY FULL OF CIGARETTE BUTTS.
HE IS WRITING FAST.
A DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES BEHIND RAV ASHLAG'S BACK.
AARON ENTERS THE ROOM QUIETLY AND SITS DOWN ON A CHAIR BY THE DOOR.
RAV ASHLAG DOESN'T NOTICE HIM AND CONTINUES TO WRITE.
AARON SWALLOWS A PILL. HE COUGHS, INTENTIONALLY.
Aaron: Did you get any sleep?
Rav Ashlag (excitedly): It seems to me that I've found the right style of explanation. The Zohar is simple, you know, if you only remember that it speaks of what is within you. I have found a way to explain it.
AARON HOLDS A HEAVY MANUSCRIPT IN RAV ASHLAG'S HANDWRITING.
Aaron: I've read it.
Rav Ashlag: Did you understand any of it?
Aaron: No. (In hurry) But maybe it's because I'm so dumb. I was a terrible student at school, as well.
RAV ASHLAG STANDS UP, BRASHLY PUSHING HIS CHAIR BACK.
Rav Ashlag (irritably): I don't know how to make it simpler.
Aaron: Don't worry, it will come! Clearly, to write something simple, for simple-minded fools like me who want nothing more than their simple earthly lives is, well, not that simple.
Rav Ashlag (reading out loud what he had written): “The Creator doesn't see our bodies; He sees one common soul. It is the union of all our souls. Our souls are bonded by the force of love. A single thought governs them, the thought of the Creator.”
Aaron: What thought?!
Rav Ashlag: Love. Nothing else exists besides that. Complete, absolute bestowal.
Aaron: Where is it, this love?
Rav Ashlag: It permeates everything.
Aaron (suddenly irritated): But where is it? Show it to me, let me touch it, feel it, just a little bit! (Stops all of a sudden. Pause.) I'm sorry.
Rav Ashlag (spreads his arms): I am trying to explain it better.
Aaron (pointing to the pages in his hand): I gave this to my friend to read, he is a well known publisher, a Jew.
Rav Ashlag: I can't write any simpler than that.
Aaron: He stopped on the fifth line and started to laugh at everything that’s written here.
Rav Ashlag: Isn't it clear?
Aaron: No, it's clear. It's also clear that we are all egoists and that none of us possesses the same simple, sublime thought that the Creator has. We don't love anyone but ourselves. (He shifts his gaze to the window) But why does His love cause so much suffering, so much bloodshed? (Pause) It hurts so much… and I desperately don’t want to die.
RAV ASHLAG TURNS TO THE TABLE, PAYING NO MORE ATTENTION TO AARON.
THE DOOR CLOSES QUIETLY BEHIND AARON.
RAV ASHLAG RESUMES HIS WRITING:
“The body suffers. It is born to die and to be buried. The body is a desire to live for one’s own sake. Life for the sake of ourselves exhausts us.”
FOR A MOMENT HE LOOKS UP.
AARON IS NOT THERE.
HE DESPERATELY WANTS TO SHARE WITH HIM WHAT HE HAS JUST WRITTEN.
HE QUICKLY CONTINUES:
“Only when we desire to bestow to each other, will the troubles and suffering of this world disappear.”
AN UNUSUALLY WARM WIND BLOWS THROUGH THE WINDOWS.
THE STARS ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE IN THE CLOUDLESS NIGHT SKY.
RAV ASHLAG GETS UP AND LEAVES THE HOUSE.
NIGHTTIME. LONDON. EMPTY STREETS.
RAV ASHLAG IS WALKING THROUGH THE CITY.
SUDDENLY WE CAN HEAR BARUCH'S VOICE, READING THE FIRST LINES OF HIS LETTER TO HIS FATHER:
Baruch’s voice: “As soon as you left, we broke down. We are showing a brave face, but inside we are about to explode. I can feel it… There is no one here who can guide us, no one who can stop this insanity. I am prepared to let go. Energy is seeping out.”
LONDON. RAV ASHLAG'S ROOM.
AN OPEN LETTER IS LYING ON THE TABLE.
A WIND COMING FROM THE HALF-OPEN SHUTTERS IS SHUFFLING THE PAGES.
THE LINES OF THE LETTER CAN BE READ CLEARLY.
WE HEAR BARUCH’S VOICE:
“We can't do it without you. Father, what should we do?”
RAV ASHLAG TAKES A QUILL, THE PLUME DIVES INTO THE INK.
HE IS WRITING AND READING IT OUT LOUD:
Rav Ashlag’s voice: “My beloved brothers! I know you are desperate, full of doubts and trepidation. And this is good! Despair is the beginning of ascent. Again and again, through descents and ascents, beyond your miserable bodies, try to distinguish those sparks of love that pulsate within each of you. Always remember that if you do not unite, this will be your burial place…”
RAV ASHLAG’S HAND STOPS FOR A MOMENT, THEN HE ADDS SOMETHING:
“…and you’ll discover that you do not have the strength to unite!”
ANOTHER PAUSE.
AGAIN, RAV ASHLAG’S GAZE EXAMINES WHAT HE WROTE, AND HE CONTINUES:
- “You were eager to unite. The Creator rewarded you with hatred. You thought that you were able to love each other, but it turned out that you are unable to achieve anything!”
***
JERUSALEM. THE CLASSROOM.
BARUCH IS READING FROM THE LETTER:
Baruch: “You stand today before Mount Sinai [61]. It is a mountain of hatred that exists within each and every one of you.”
SHIMON SHAKES HIS HEAD.
Baruch (reading): “How can we rise above it? Where do we obtain the strength?!”
CHAIM IS LISTENING ACUTELY.
MOSHE IS HIDING A TINY SMIRK.
Baruch (reading, his voice trembling): “You are asking, where can you find strength?! Only the Creator can grant you that. It is He who revealed to you the truth about yourselves. He is waiting for you to turn to Him. Do it! Demand that He give you strength to love each other. How?”
Shimon (whispers): How should we demand it, how?
Baruch (reading the last line): “How? You have The Book of Zohar. Let The Zohar enter you.”
***
LONDON. NIGHT.
RAV ASHLAG IS WRITING INCESSANTLY.
NEAT ROWS OF LETTERS ARE FLOWING FROM HIS QUILL.
HE IS WRITING CLEANLY, NOT STOPPING ONCE TO MAKE A SINGLE REVISION.
HE REACHES THE END OF THE PAGE AND LAYS IT ON A HEFTY STACK OF OTHER PAGES BY THE EDGE OF THE TABLE.
THE WINDOW IS OPEN. THE NIGHT IS WARM AND QUIET.
SUDDENLY RAV ASHLAG HEARS A STRANGE GROAN.
HE RAISES HIS HEAD, THEN STANDS UP AND WALKS TO THE WINDOW.
THE MOANING IS COMING FROM DOWNSTAIRS.
IT IS GETTING LOUDER AND LOUDER, BY NOW IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE A SCREAM.
RAV ASHLAG LEANS OUT THE WINDOW AND LOOKS DOWN.
HE NOTICES AN OPEN WINDOW ON THE FIRST FLOOR WITH LIGHT COMING FROM IT.
HE WALKS DOWN THE OLD WOODEN STAIRWAY TO THE FIRST FLOOR.
RAV ASHLAG APPROACHES THE DOOR TO AARON’S ROOM.
BENEATH IT, A SLIVER OF LIGHT SPILLS INTO THE CORRIDOR.
RAV ASHLAG OPENS THE DOOR.
HE SEES AARON, LYING FACE DOWN ON THE FLOOR OF HIS BEDROOM.
HIS DEATHLY PALE FACE IS WRITHING IN PAIN.
RAV ASHLAG KNEELS BY HIM.
AARON IS TRYING TO WHISPER SOMETHING BUT ALL THAT COMES OUT IS ANOTHER GROAN.
RAV ASHLAG FORCES AARON ON HIS BACK AND OPENS HIS SHIRT.
HE PUTS HIS HAND ON AARON'S STOMACH AND LOOKS INTO HIS EYES.
SUDDENLY AARON'S BODY JERKS IN A SPASM AND GROWS STILL ON THE FLOOR.
AARON LOOKS INTO RAV ASHLAG'S EYES.
Rav Ashlag: How often do you have these fits?
Aaron (weakly): Such strong ones once every two months… when the pills… don't work. I used to have them once every six months. Now they are more and more frequent.
Rav Ashlag: Diagnosis?
Aaron: Liver cancer.
Rav Ashlag: Since when?
Aaron: It started back in Poland, I think.
Rav Ashlag: You thought I could cure you?
Aaron (silent for a long time): I am exhausted. I've tried everything. (He looks into Rav Ashlag's eyes) I was hoping.
Rav Ashlag: You don’t need me, you need a doctor.
AARON STRUGGLES TO SIT UP STRAIGHT.
Aaron: They gave me a year to live, at most. Is there nothing that can be done?
Rav Ashlag: Kabbalah doesn't heal the body.
AARON MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO STAND UP, BUT GIVES IN AND REMAINS SEATED ON THE FLOOR INSTEAD.
Aaron (looking at Rav Ashlag): I am ready to do whatever it takes to make these pains go away. (His eyes are full of tears) There must be something, an incantation, a prayer, or a charm. Something!
Rav Ashlag (bluntly): No, there are no such things.
Aaron (winces, fighting his pain): But you yourself are saying that Kabbalah is the path to happiness. Cure me, and I will give you everything.
Rav Ashlag: If one could read a line out of The Zohar and heal, everyone would rush to Kabbalah. No, it doesn't work like that.
Kabbalah cures the soul, not the body. It’s for those who are asking, “What am I living for?” And not for those who are asking how to cure cancer.
AARON FINALLY MANAGES TO STAND UP.
Rav Ashlag: Lie down and rest. You will sleep well tonight.
[47] Port of Jaffa – the arrival place of many immigrant ships to Israel until the early 50s.
[48] A Jewish seminary
[49] Sephardic – A Jew of Spanish and/or Portuguese origin.
[50] “The Western Wall,” also known as “The Wailing Wall,” is part of the outer wall of the Second Temple that remained after its ruin in 70 CE. It is the most sacred place to religious Jews and is always crowded with worshippers.
[51]Ashkenazi – a Jew of European descent.
[52] In Kabbalah, the Messiah is the revelation of Light of Wisdom for a person (Messiah Son of Joseph) or for the whole of humanity (Messiah Son of David).
[53] Attainment—the highest level of understanding, an absolute vision of all that is happening, from the thought of creation to the end of correction.
[54] Ashkenazi—Here the term Ashkenazi is said in a derogatory manner.
[55] The sages say that a person has to “write the Torah in his heart.” It means that he has to correct his egoistic heart into bestowal and love. This will signify that he has written the Torah. In Hebrew, the word “Torah” [. Horaa.] means the instruction on correction.
[56] A neighborhood outside the old city of Jerusalem.
[57] There are states when the teacher “takes” the desires of his students into himself and neutralizes their egoism with his influence. He as if transfers them from one world to another, like a bird carrying its nestlings on its back, and that’s why this action is called “ Knafaim” (Hebrew: “wings”). It happens when the teacher decides that the students need his support.
[58] White symbolizes a state of enlightenment, complete cleansing from the ego. The White City symbolizes man’s final, corrected desire, which was egoistic and ignoble and has become the most exalted, white. In the city occurs the complete unification with the Creator.
[59] The sensation that we are part of one collective soul replaces the sensation of the individual self. From the perspective of the Creator, we are one unified whole. Therefore, for Him to hear us, we must also be so—united.
[60] Jaffa—An ancient city by the shores of the Mediterranean, mentioned in the Bible (Joshua, 19:46, and Jonah, 1:3). Today it is adjacent to Tel Aviv.