Original subtitles

The most difficult day in the life of Professor Shkolnik.

l'm leaving.

You coming?

Professor Uriel Shkolnik,

Head, Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies at Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Max Kuper, professor for Jewish Thought,

full professor in the Talmud Department,

an internationally renowned scholar of Talmudic and the Sages literature.

Among his prestigious awards,

the Bialik Award, the Jerusalem Prize for Rabbinic literature,

the Kaplan Prize and the Urbach Prize.

To the lsrael Museum, please.

Professor Shkolnik is a member of the American Academy

for Jewish research in New York.

His research is compiled in nine books and dozens of papers, dealing in subjects

on marital laws in the Talmudic era,

law and ethics in the world of the Sages,

and memory and identity in the Babylonian Diaspora.

Professor Shkolnik's scientific contributions attest to daring thought and depth,

and to a new perspective on Jewish culture and intellectual history.

For all these accomplishments, the nominating committee has decided,

with the approval of the Council,

the President of the Academy, and General Assembly,

to welcome Professor Shkolnik into the National lsrael Academy of Sciences.

Welcome, Professor Shkolnik.

We are proud to have you among us.

Thank you very much.

Mr. President Shimon Peres,

President of the Academy, Professor Yehuda Grossman,

fellow members of the Academy,

my father, Professor Eliezer Shkolnik, with us tonight,

my mother, Dr. Judith Shkolnik.

Family, friends, esteemed guests.

Much have l learned,

yet l have but skimmed from the knowledge of my teachers.

So l feel tonight, standing before you,

a little nervous, grateful, and mostly filled

with appreciation for the people l had the privilege to learn from.

l'd like to tell you a story.

When l was a child, maybe eight years old,

l came home from school with a form to fill out.

Among the questions was, ''Father's profession.''

l knew my father worked at the university,

busy there with the Talmud and ancient books,

and that he was a professor.

But l didn't know if that was considered a profession,

what they meant by ''father's profession.''

So l asked Father what to write.

He said, without hesitation, ''Write 'teacher'!''

''You're not a teacher. l have teachers.

''You're not like them. You're a professor!''

My mother shouted to me,

''Write 'Talmud researcher,' or 'lecturer.'

''Sorry, put down 'Senior lecturer'!''

But my father forced me to write ''teacher.''

And asked to see the form, as only a manuscript researcher knows,

to make sure l didn't make a mistake,

or leave space on the line to add something after he'd gone.

l wrote down ''teacher'' in huge letters.

''That's my profession. Teacher,'' he said.

l was disappointed.

Ashamed.

What kid brags about his father, the teacher?

Lecturer, maybe, but teacher?

Several years have passed,

and today l know two things l didn't know then.

One,

even a senior Talmud lecturer at Hebrew University

is not something kids brag about at school.

Two, and seriously, this time.

lf one really has to define our profession,

the nature of our craft, the essence of this totality

that takes over every second of our professional lives,

and, to tell the truth, our personal lives, too,

our aspirations, our social ties, our dreams...

We are teachers. Those who impart knowledge to others.

Who take from the former generation and pass on to the next.

That is our role.

So, thank you, Father, for this distinction,

for the personal example,

for the way of life you set in our home,

for the cultural fortress you built around us.

When your grandchildren, my children, ask me today

what my profession is, l reply, with much pride,

that l, like you, am a teacher.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

lt's nothing, just one lecture.

Dinner and a few meetings.

Other than that, l'm free.

No complaints.

l'll be in New York on February 6th.

No, a fundraiser for the Friends of the University.

At the Pierre, of course.

You think Zilla would come with me otherwise?

Listen, l'm at the lsrael Museum

and l can't talk on the phone inside.

l need to get back.

No, nothing, a ceremony, the Academy of Sciences...

Where to, sir?

-l was already inside. -Where's inside?

At the ceremony. l went out for a few minutes.

Lift your sleeve.

Why?

-What is your name? -Eliezer Shkolnik.

And what ceremony is this?

Excuse me?

What ceremony is being held here?

What's the problem?

There's no problem, l just asked what ceremony.

What's the event taking place here?

-Don't you know? -l do know.

So why are you asking me?

What did you say your name was?

-Sir? -Explain the problem.

l was checked by security at the main entrance...

Sir, l'm just doing my job. No need to get angry.

Mister...

Professor Eliezer Shkolnik.

-Are you a member of the Academy? -No.

So what is your connection to the event?

ls everything all right?

-Do you know him? -Of course!

-ls there a problem? -No, sir. We're fine. Thank you.

-Are you sure? -Yes. Thank you.

Okay, sir, you may go in. Please.

-Please, sir. -No.

Finish your procedure.

lf you think l'm suspicious

and that l shouldn't be here, finish the procedure.

Call one of your superiors. l'll wait here patiently.

Call for some backup. Maybe a bomb squad?

Sir, don't get mad. lt's not personal.

Anyone passing the main gate should wear a wristband.

You don't have one.

So l just made an inquiry.

l'm sorry if l inconvenienced you.

Please, sir.

Now you're the ideologist.

You're not talking like a researcher.

Nonsense! Boyarin does that all day.

He is trying to derive the anthropology from the hermeneutics.

You missed the point.

The whole of Boyarin's corpus...

Historically, the discourse about gender and sexuality

is metaphoric.

What's the connection between body technique and commentary practices?

lt's like defeminizing the Jewish male.

lt's an anti-colonialist argument!

What are you talking about?

Basically, he's trying to say this man is a sissy

as opposed to the virile, strong Roman man

with his iron helmet and cleated boots.

He claims that Zionism changed the Jewish man

from a feminine man to a macho man,

which means the destruction of Jewish history...

Come closer together, please.

A bit more.

And, only if you wish, you may smile.

-Are you holding? -l can manage.

Kids, do you have enough room? Shall l move the seat?

We're fine, don't worry.

Dad, are you getting in?

l'll walk.

There's plenty of room. Josh, make room for Grandpa.

l'd rather walk.

Seriously, you're not getting in?

l need to stretch my legs after all this sitting. l'll walk.

-Got your keys? -Yes.

Josh, shut the door.

Why isn't Grandpa a member of the Academy of Sciences?

Eliezer.

Congratulations.

Your son is doing well.

A few things worth knowing about Eliezer Shkolnik.

1 . His research.

Eliezer Shkolnik came up with a revolutionary argument.

A version of the Jerusalem Talmud circulated in Europe in the Middle Ages,

different from the version we have today.

He proposed this after discovering small differences between

the version we have and the text quoted by the Sages of the time.

Understand, this means hundreds, thousands of books,

each having several versions of manuscripts.

Eliezer Shkolnik analyzed all of them, for almost 30 years.

A huge undertaking! With a lot of audacity.

Then, a month before he was about to publish this monumental work,

his life's project,

another scholar, Professor Yehuda Grossman,

by chance, found inside the bindings of books at an Italian monastery,

the manuscript of that version of the Jerusalem Talmud.

The original that was used by the European Sages.

And so made all of Shkolnik's work unnecessary.

lt actually proved Shkolnik's thesis, but Grossman published it before him.

2. For 40 years, every day,

he walks

from his home to the National Library, on a fixed route.

ln any weather.

A momentary lapse of concentration of the copyist,

whose eye skips from one word to another,

is called ''homoeoteleuton.''

3. He refused to cancel his annual course,

even though only one student signed up for it.

We can learn from this that hospitality is more important than the Sabbath?

4. His favorite line is:

This is a very nice idea.

Very nice.

But wrong.

My father says that this is what Levinas says.

His second favorite line is:

Yes.

One cannot draw evidence from fools.

The truth is, in reality,

nothing is nice.

Professor Eliezer Shkolnik

5. For 16 consecutive years,

he was submitted as a candidate for the lsrael Prize.

ln all these years, others were found more worthy.

6. His life's pride is the footnote

dedicated to him by Y.N. Feinstein

in his monumental book.

lntroduction to Text Versions of Talmudic Literature

Brought to my attention by my friend and student, E. Shkolnik.

-Didn't l tell you this story? -No.

lt was extreme.

He forced me to write ''teacher.''

Grabbed my hand and crushed it onto the page.

lt hurt for a week! Didn't l tell you?

Why wouldn't he let you write ''Talmudic lecturer'' or ''researcher''?

He resented a third grade teacher asking about his profession.

He's a philologist, but who knows what that is?

ln my mind, he was an important man,

a kind of world expert.

There were maybe four people in the world

who understood his work, and when his research was finished,

the world would know the great scholar he is.

But in the meantime no one knew this but me.

l cried all the way to school. l didn't submit the form.

That's the story you chose to tell?

l made him look good. Modest, no?

lt's as if Josh would stand up in front of all your friends

and tell them what a dedicated father you are

because you ''encouraged'' him to do his SAT's at age 1 4.

l did encourage him.

You tortured him.

Otherwise he would've ended up with nothing.

This way, he can choose to do nothing, but he has a choice.

Whatever you say.

A few things worth knowing about Uriel Shkolnik.

1 .

On the night of Shavuot, he manages to deliver 6 lectures

on various subjects all over the city.

An interesting anecdote about Gedaliahu Alon

is that he changed his name to Alon, because in Greek...

To what can we compare this?

l once heard a nice idea...

lf we neutralize the classic commentary of the text...

The deep core of the idea...

l'll jump to the end of the paragraph...

''May all seedlings coming from you be like you.''

2.

Let me tell you something my father once told me.

Great Lecturer

There are many correct things in your paper, and many new things.

Challenging and fun

Thank you.

The problem is that the new things are not correct.

And the correct things aren't new.

But that's not necessarily bad.

Perfect!

3. The birth of their younger daughter.

l love hearing you speak.

No matter the topic, it always puts things in their place.

Things l had no opinion about

coming out of your mouth, l immediately agree.

4.

ln many ways, life in a couple is like a tree.

A few things people say behind his back.

You're better off on his good side.

lt's not that he'll persecute you,

but if you're not on the same page as him,

you'll soon find yourself out of the department.

He expects a kind of constant, mild flattery.

Congratulations to the young couple.

A new home in lsrael!

5.

Your father discovered something very important today.

You can't disturb him now.

The moment he decided to become a Talmud scholar.

The happiest day in the life of Professor Shkolnik.

ln memory of Professor Menachem Stern.

Murdered here on his way to the National Library.

Speaking.

Concerning?

Seriously? Publish it, like this?

You can't be stuck with it for 80 years.

Stay in motion all the time, or you fall!

Are you sure?

lt means that Eldad and Meidad are half-brothers to Moses. Radical!

l'm never sure.

Yes!

Good morning, sir. Please.

Please, sir. You can pass.

Someone took my bag and my clothes.

Didn't you leave them in the other room?

My bag was stolen and my clothes.

My wallet, my cell phone.

My watch, my glasses.

Maybe someone moved them?

Why would anyone move my clothes?

Shall l go talk to the guard?

No, no, it's okay.

Want to borrow my clothes, maybe?

Sarah, hi.

This is our lost and found.

Good morning.

lt was like he was someone else, sitting there. Not him.

And who is this woman?

Why in a remote park? Alone?

Scary!

...you home?

Eliezer!

l was looking for you.

-Did you eat lunch? -Not yet.

Did something happen?

l had a call from the Education Minister's office today.

They've decided to give me the lsrael Prize this year.

-l just heard. Congratulations! -Thanks.

-Better late than never. -lncredible, isn't it?

Did you speak to him? ls he ecstatic?

My mother says he's in shock.

You're the one who seems in shock.

Can you believe it?

He'd given up. He'd been passed up for 20 years.

The things he said about this prize!

For years he's been saying all the laureates are unworthy.

One's a dilettante, another, an historic accident,

the third, a folklorist.

His whole personality has to reboot now.

Who was on the committee?

lt's strange. l assume Grossman's the chairman.

Did he suddenly grow a heart?

Your father's a great man, no need for a heart to get that.

Just common sense.

He's the most important researcher of our generation.

Really.

He has the integrity no longer found in the department.

Or elsewhere, for that matter.

My grandmother fled and hid in the woods.

My grandfather stayed with Franz Josef's soldiers.

The war dragged on and they waited.

ln the end, the Cossacks retreated.

-I'm really happy for him. -I know.

He deserves it.

But he's so weird!

When l hugged him today, l barely recognized him.

His smell...

It was the smell of a stranger.

I've no idea who this man is.

And he's my father.

It was very moving to see him like this.

Like an anorexic girl who suddenly begins to eat.

He deserves it.

But that image of him with that woman...

It's inconceivable!

Do you really think there's a woman?

l don't know. Anything's possible.

lf he does, it's hilarious, no?

Where does he get the courage?

What's courage got to do with it?

lt takes a lot of courage to risk everything for a momentary passion.

Maybe it's not momentary?

Still. He has a lot to lose.

So that's why you don't cheat on me? Too much to lose?

Who said l don't?

You don't.

How can you be so sure?

You're a coward.

So my father is brave and l'm a coward.

Your father is true to himself and is willing to pay the price.

You're a nice guy who's afraid of confrontation.

Even with me.

What are you saying?

l don't understand.

You want me to confront you? l can do that.

No. l'm glad you don't want to break up our family.

lt's not out of fidelity, but out of fear.

l love you.

l really do.

l know.

So, what's your diagnosis?

I don't know yet.

But if you'd like to get a nurse to assist me in here,

I'm all for it.

MUTE

''...winners of the lsrael Prize in Jewish Sciences and Rabbinical Literature.''

That will annoy him.

''Professor Shmuel Tarshish for his achievements in the study of Aggadah,

''Professor Eliezer Shkolnik for his contribution

''to the study of Talmud text versions. ''

-That's it? -That's it.

They didn't quote the considerations? Say who was on the committee?

Professor Eliezer Shkolnik for his contribution

to the study of Talmud text versions.

Miscellaneous

Footnote

-Yes, good morning. -Professor Shkolnik?

-Uriel. -Shoshi from National Radio.

It's about the item on the news.

That's my father, not me.

I know, but you could explain his work,

congratulate him on the air, if you like, but that's...

Thank you, but l must ask you to leave me out of it.

Call him, interview him.

He won't answer. Do you have his mobile?

No, sorry. l must get off the line. Sorry.

-Yes, good morning. -Uriel?

-That's me. -Yonah Salomon.

Yonah Salomon.

I'm the advisor to the Education Minister for the Israel Prize.

Damn call waiting! They're attacking my phone!

I'm sorry to disturb you, but we must meet with you urgently.

Who's ''we''?

Me and the supervisor of the Israel Prize.

l didn't hear you.

Can you come over in an hour? This is not for the phone.

Now l'm curious!

At least tell me what this is about.

We'll explain everything. I'll be in Sarah Fodor's room.

Just tell me everything's all right. You're making me nervous.

It will be fine, but now it's a bit of a mess.

Yonah, come on, l'm not a child.

Did you find out my father's a serial killer?

Did he offend Ethiopians? Someone's not happy with his winning?

Okay, so, he has enemies. So what?

Save your speculations.

See you in an hour? Okay?

Okay.

Mother

lgnore

Thanks for the ride.

Wait, do you have food? Water?

Yes, yes.

A hat?

Will you be okay?

l'll be fine, don't worry.

-When will you be back? -Thursday or Friday.

l'm not taking my cell phone, so tell Mom not to worry.

Ministry of Education

Glad you could make it.

Can you bring a chair from the other room?

Okay, let's make quick introductions.

l'm Yonah, advisor to the Minister for the lsrael Prize.

Ms. Sarah Fodor, head of the lsrael Prize Division.

Dvir Oded, legal advisor.

l assume you know the members of the committee.

-l do. -Professor Yehuda Grossman, chairman,

Professor Adiel Glass,

and Professor Daniel Herman.

-Would you like a drink? -No, thanks. l'm fine.

So shall we begin?

You must be wondering why we called you over on such short notice.

l won't tell you what scenarios went through my head.

l am sure you didn't imagine this one.

So, please, put me out of my misery.

Could we maybe close the door?

Thank you.

Basically, we have good news and bad news.

-Which would you like first? -Could we quit playing games?

The bad news is that, unfortunately, your father

will not receive the lsrael Prize this year.

Before you go on, l must stop you.

You should speak to my father, not to me.

lf something is getting in the way of this prize,

l'm not the one to discuss it with.

This brings me to the good news.

There is no possible good news now.

You will be receiving the lsrael Prize this year.

Excuse me?

We're still trying to figure out how this mistake happened,

but it appears to have been the assistant in the Minister's office.

She called your father instead of you,

and the Minister congratulated him, thinking she was talking to you.

This has never happened to us, so the legal advisor is here

to advise us how to proceed, given this new situation.

From here on.

Let me get this straight.

You called my father by mistake?

The Minister has a conversation with him, thinking she's talking to me?

According to our investigation, that's what happened.

l have never heard anything so idiotic!

The consequences are terrible. You realize that?

That's why we wanted to talk to you about the best course of action from here on.

l don't understand how they confused our phone numbers,

and didn't make sure before they put the Minister on the line.

The assistant claims she first called the university

and asked to speak to Professor Shkolnik.

She can't remember if she mentioned a first name.

Since you weren't there, she asked for your cell number

and dialed the number she was given.

Both your first names start with the same letter.

Theoretically, this mistake is understandable.

lt's never happened before.

What about the press release? Don't you send a letter?

The letter was mailed to you, not to your father.

You should receive it today.

We did not send out a press release.

There was an announcement in the paper.

The reporter must have heard about it.

We're still trying to figure out how the reporter got the information.

Anyone can see that this is not our usual phrasing.

l...

l need a moment to think. Excuse me.

-l'm sorry. -Professor Shkolnik.

What happened here is a disaster. You have no idea.

Professor Shkolnik, l must ask you not to mention this to anyone.

lt would be best to keep discussing this here.

Give him a moment to calm down outside.

You won't call anyone, will you?

l don't know how to react to this mistake

other than say it's too late to turn back.

You told my father he's the recipient of the prize.

You can't take it back.

How did l become a candidate?

ln principle, l asked anyone concerned not to recommend me

as long as my father is a candidate.

And he's been a candidate for quite some years, l know it,

because l'm the one who makes sure to submit him every time.

l recommended you.

According to the regulations, the judges may add candidates.

And l recommended you.

At the meeting, each of us wrote down the name he preferred

from the list of candidates.

And everyone, unanimously, chose you.

Everyone thinks the prize should go to you this year.

What a mess!

l'd like, if you please,

to focus on the legal aspects.

There is no way to switch the winner.

The point on which we wished to consult with you

is the best way to break the news to your father.

The legal aspects are all very well,

but we're talking about life and death.

My father has been passed over for 20 years!

Finally, when he thinks he's getting the prize...

You can't take it away from him. lt'll kill him.

l'm not joking here. lt will kill him.

And he deserves it, damn it!

-Someone other than me has to say it. -Enough!

This mistake shouldn't have happened,

but once it did, it must be made right, not made worse.

We're not discussing whether Eliezer Shkolnik is worthy of the lsrael Prize.

So, as chairman, what do you propose?

The Minister should invite Eliezer Shkolnik, today,

to apologize for the mistake.

And to congratulate him upon his son receiving the prize.

Pure and simple.

Can you really see that happening?

My father, arriving at the Minister's office,

without knowing why,

only to be told that they're taking the prize away from him?

And what's more, that they're giving it to his son?

l don't see it,

because it won't happen. l won't let it happen!

l'm declaring right now.

lf the recipient's identity is changed, l'll resign as chairman.

One moment, Professor Grossman. No need for ultimatums.

Let's think about it with an open mind. Perhaps it's not such a bad solution.

Eliezer Shkolnik has been a candidate for years.

lf Uriel will give up the prize, why not consider giving it to his father?

No, you'd be exposing the Ministry to a massive lawsuit.

lf this ever comes out... Don't even think in that direction.

Why would it come out? Whoever knows is in this room.

We'll inform the Minister, but it's in our interests to keep it to ourselves.

lt's not just a convenient solution.

lt's the right thing to do, in every sense.

lt's correcting a 20-year injustice.

Absolutely not!

Eliezer Shkolnik will not receive the lsrael Prize on my watch.

l won't sign the judges' considerations.

Uriel, l'm sorry. You know l appreciate your work.

That is why l gave you the Prize.

To you! Not to the entire Shkolnik family.

You have no right to pass this honor on to your father.

Any discussion of this is absurd.

Look, the three of you have already won the lsrael Prize.

You know what it's like, that feeling, on the day you're told that you've won.

Especially if this is someone who, for years, felt ostracized and outcast.

And then, all at once, the gates of the establishment open to him,

and he's told, ''Welcome!

''You're accepted and appreciated.''

To take away the existential bliss that was given to him yesterday,

it's bloodshed!

lf we were to bestow the lsrael Prize out of compassion or pity,

the entire lsrael Prize institution would look different.

We are committed to a single, high and uncompromising standard.

So tell me why my father doesn't deserve the lsrael Prize?

Compared to others. Seriously, why not?

How is he inferior to Hecht, or Goldberg, or Sheperman?

Notice l'm not mentioning anyone here.

l'm willing to argue why others are worthy.

But l refuse to list the shortcomings l find in your father's research.

Naturally!

Because in the end, this enables you to hide the fact

that the grudge you hold against him is personal, not professional.

l don't know what you're implying.

But, in any case, it isn't relevant to this discussion.

Not implying. Saying explicitly!

l think you hate my father.

For years, you've been preventing his promotion,

hiding manuscripts from him,

blocking him at appointment committees.

His closeness to Feinstein made you crazy when you were young,

and, to this day, it distorts your judgment!

You could have given him the Jerusalem manuscript you found.

For 30 years he worked on it. lt's his.

lt's his! lt's his life's work. His whole world. Everyone knew it. Everyone!

But you had to publish it before him!

Why?

Why?

You should've disqualified yourself when you knew he was a candidate.

Everyone here knows this! Anyone with a hint of basic decency!

My response to these grave allegations

l'm forced to keep to myself.

What l can reveal about your father, no son should hear.

Which is why l ask you,

stop pushing me and leave things as they are.

But you don't deny the long, deep rivalry between you and my father?

Why didn't you disqualify yourself?

Come to think of it,

l suspect you voted for me just to spite him.

You knew it'd hurt him to see me receive the prize

while he's a candidate. You knew that!

l wish to end this meeting.

Either my opinion is accepted,

and the Minister tells Eliezer Shkolnik there's been a mistake,

or l resign from this committee.

And the reason for my resignation will inevitably come out.

Things must be handled with transparency.

Same transparency with which you run the Mishna Project?

A project that allows you to decide who has access to manuscripts,

and who doesn't?

Or when you blocked the promotion of one of the people present here,

and we all know who,

because you were afraid he'd disprove your thesis about the Scrolls?

Or the transparency with which you rejected Ariella Asher's PhD thesis

when she was on her deathbed, a month before she died,

while her family begged you to approve it!

Twelve years of work, and you, with inconceivable cruelty,

refused just because her advisor happened to be my father?

So let's talk about transparency, Professor Grossman!

l can talk to journalists, too.

l would think you'd be the first here with an interest to lay low.

-Let me out! -This meeting is not over!

Your father's only achievement, the only one,

is the footnote that Feinstein gave him!

Other than that, he never published anything of value.

Do you know why Feinstein gave him that citation?

Because he knew your father was no threat to him.

He had such disdain for him

that he was willing to share this empty credit with him.

He knew how much your father needed it.

That's no reason to get the lsrael Prize.

Now, move away from the door, please.

l said move away from the door!

Back off, you psychopath bastard!

l want the record of this meeting.

You know there is no record in our meetings.

l'm sorry l pushed you.

l shouldn't have pushed you.

Let's all calm down.

Are you okay, Professor Grossman?

Let's put things back into proportion.

No, these are the proportions.

These are the proportions.

Give me a few hours.

l'll tell my father.

Who is it?

lt's Uriel Shkolnik. ls my father there?

Yes, come in.

Uriel, here.

Would you like to say a few words in honor of your father's prize?

Did you talk to Josh?

When is he coming back?

l don't know. Tomorrow, or the day after.

-Tomorrow, or the day after? -l said l didn't know.

Sorry.

Talk to him.

You got registered mail.

I can't do it.

l just can't.

Ever since l got my tenure, he stopped being happy for me.

Every achievement of mine is at his expense.

And l know he blames me.

l'm the one who spoils this world that was supposed to be his.

He'll survive this blow,

perhaps even revel in it.

lt'll be proof that everyone but he is an amateur.

But he'll hate me.

lf l tell him about this mistake,

it will bury my relationship with him forever.

Uriel, there is no greater betrayal of your father and his principles

than what you are asking of me.

ln spite of all my criticism of him,

your father never validated a mistake because it was convenient.

You know that.

Yes, but he won't.

-We will. -So what?

''So what?''

lt turns the whole system into a circus.

No!

lt means that there are things more important than the truth.

Like what?

Family?

Like your father, l do know something about cutting corners,

about abandoning the truth.

Enough with this truth!

So much aggression and violence you hide under the word ''truth.''

l don't believe in this romanticism.

You don't seek the truth. You seek honors,

just like other mortals.

Such a terrible thing you're doing in the name of truth.

lt's just a prize.

A prize, that's all.

lt's not a betrayal of anything.

lt's just a small, nice thing

you can do for a colleague, if only you'd be a little flexible.

Just a tiny bit.

That's all l ask of you. That's all.

l'll agree on two conditions.

The first is that you write the judges' considerations.

l'll sign them, but you write them.

The second condition is that you never submit

your candidacy for the lsrael Prize.

And make sure no one else does it for you.

Not now, and not after my death and your father's death.

Uriel, l gave you the lsrael Prize.

As far as l'm concerned, it's yours.

lf you choose to pass it on, for family reasons,

l won't prevent you from doing that.

But if that's your decision, it's final.

Even ifjust you and l know about it.

The revenge of Professor Shkolnik.

-Hello. -Hello.

-You must be the journalist? -Yes, l'm Noa. Pleased to meet you.

-Come on in. -Thank you.

l'm a little early.

Eliezer likes punctuality.

lt's lovely here!

When l studied at Hebrew University, l wanted to live around here.

-You studied at Hebrew University? -Yes.

-Which department? -Philosophy and Art History.

You didn't take any of Eliezer's classes?

l'm afraid not.

But l attended some of your son's lectures.

Yes? How nice.

l wanted to ask you if you have any pictures of Professor Shkolnik for the article.

Maybe pictures of him with your son, Professor Uriel Shkolnik?

-All right. -Hello.

l'll look. Excuse me.

Very pleased. l'm Noa.

Would you prefer to sit at a table?

No, this is fine, thank you. Wherever you prefer.

ls it okay if l record our conversation?

Shall we start?

Can you tell me your life story, just in an outline?

Born, raised, studied?

l was born in Jerusalem.

My parents came to lsrael in 1932.

My father was a hat merchant.

What do you mean by outline?

Judges' Considerations

Let's start over.

Could you tell me a little about your research?

''Professor Eliezer Shkolnik.

Professor Uriel Shkolnik

''The protege

''of the late Professor

''Yonah Naftali Feinstein,

''paved a new road in the study

''of the Jerusalem Talmud.''

My research focuses on mapping the branches of Talmud text versions.

Mapping the text versions of the Talmud in lsrael.

The Jerusalem Talmud,

whose printed version, which is studied nowadays,

is extremely problematic, philologically speaking.

''His research projects

His projects

''His project

''in the last decades...''

The Introduction to the Text Version of the Talmudic Literature?

Without ''the.''

Introduction to the Text Version of the Talmudic Literature, by Y. N. Feinstein.

Among the thousands of footnotes in this book,

l am the only one alive who Professor Feinstein mentions by name.

''His many publications...

''His few publications in various fields...

''May be described as sifted flour.

''A little that holds a lot.''

From talking with your colleagues,

l understand that in the last few years, you were quite critical

of the manner in which the lsrael Prizes were bestowed.

''His great proficiency in Talmudic Literature and his creativity...''

''His impressive thoroughness in research...''

l believe the lsrael Prize has lost much of its prestige in recent years.

When things got mixed up and the prize in Jewish Sciences

started going to people who deal with rabbinical literature, folklore...

So you're saying...

-What? -Excuse me. Please continue.

The recent recipients are not researchers in the scientific sense.

Studies on rattles in the Talmudic era,

or musings about the marital life of one sage or another,

or cookie recipes in the Babylonian Diaspora,

do not offer a scientific contribution

and do not honor the institution of the lsrael Prize.

l'm in an uncomfortable position, as they decided to grant me this prize,

but, in all modesty,

l hope this choice means a return to the days when they appreciated

deep, thorough research, whose contribution

isn't necessarily measured in terms of popular opinion.

Your son wrote a book about marital relations during the Talmudic era.

Uriel wrote many books.

''The greatness and uniqueness of Professor Shkolnik...''

How is it that two people in one family chose such a narrow field?

Greatness

''Professor Shkolnik's fortress

''is deployed over all branches of Talmudic literature

''and its parallels in the contemporaneous culture.''

ls there competition between father and son?

To quote the Babylonian Talmud,

''A man can be jealous of anyone except his son and pupil.''

l got the impression that you and he represent

almost opposite schools of research.

Who gave you this impression?

l spoke to people,

and l read your son's book.

l'll illustrate it for you.

Say we both deal with potsherds.

Yes? Broken pottery?

One of us examines these potsherds,

cleans them meticulously,

catalogs them,

measures them scientifically and precisely,

tries to decipher which period they're from, and who made them.

And if he succeeds, he has done his work properly,

and it has scientific value for generations.

The other looks at the potsherds for a few seconds,

sees they're more or less the same color,

and immediately makes a pot out of them.

The potsherds may be from different periods,

they may not exactly match, main thing is, he has a pot!

The pot is very nice, very attractive,

but it has nothing to do with scientific truth.

lt is an empty vessel. An illusion. A tower with no foundation.

Sounds like this pot really annoys you.

There is no pot! That's the point! lt's fiction.

You can't be annoyed with something that doesn't exist.

Fiction

ls this conflict present in your family life?

Uriel excels in what he does.

But l wouldn't call it Talmudic research.

''His work embodies a research infrastructure,

''for those who work in Talmud research.

''For these reasons, the Committee finds Professor Shkolnik,

''worthy of receiving the lsrael Prize.''

Did you hear the conversation?

Bits and pieces, not everything.

Was l clear enough?

l think so. l didn't hear everything.

l hope she's accurate. She's a complete ignoramus.

On his son: ''Nothing to do with scientific truth.

''Empty Vessel. An illusion. No Foundations.''

Highbrow Soap Opera

Young and Charlatan

Empty Vessel

Judges' Considerations

Re: lsrael Prize

Did you check the version in the Oxford manuscript?

No.

-The article by lzhak Baer on the subject? -No.

-Menahem Ben-Sasson? -No.

Reuven Bonfil?

Salo Baron?

These are just the scholars relevant to your thesis starting with ''B.''

Look, l've read some good papers in my life, and l've read...

Measuring potsherds all your life, with nothing to show for it.

That's science?

lt's masturbation!

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Nothing.

What are you planning to do?

When?

Say, tomorrow morning? Next week? ln three years?

Any plans on the horizon?

l'm so close to giving up on you.

You know what it means when a father gives up on his son?

l'm asking you, do you understand?

So let me explain it.

You're a millimeter from the point where your life's course

becomes irreversible.

Giving up on you means that instead of wanting

to help you before it's too late,

l want to see you suffer so that l can gloat.

That's what it means.

You have a problem with your autistic father, go yell at him, not at Josh!

l told you to talk to him, not smash his head in with a bat.

You have one role in this house,

to be a mother.

You dump that on me, too?

It seems today I'm not just the driver, but also the horse.

How is it so far?

Did you get reactions to the article?

Some.

l don't think it interested that many people.

Also, they put it way in the back pages, so...

Talk to him.

Really?

-Give him a chance to apologize. -Has he ever apologized?

l don't need his apology. l don't give a damn.

Fiddler on the Roof

Nice dowry you gave my daughter, Tzeitel, on her wedding day.

Was that really necessary?

Never mind.

Anyway, Motel and Tzeitel have been married two months...

Change places with me for a moment.

They're so happy, they have no idea how bad they have it.

The lsrael Prize was supposed to go to me this year, not to Dad.

Because of an assistant's mistake, they announced it to him.

When it was discovered, l gave up the prize for him.

No one knows, besides you.

Not even Dikla.

Tradition, tradition...

Yes?

Professor Shkolnik's fortress.

This is your first interview on television, right?

You shouldn't be wearing a white shirt. Remember that, for the next time.

Maybe, if you had a jacket, but white just won't do.

lt's too bright.

Try this on,

''Professor Eliezer Shkolnik, star student of the great Talmud scholar,

''Professor Yonah Naftali Feinstein,

''for decades researched the branches of text versions,

''of the Talmud, the various manuscripts,

''and came to a few sensational conclusions...''

Yoav, that's no good.

''Surprising conclusions.'' Fix it.

''Surprising conclusions.

''We'll discuss manuscript research methods...''

''And his monumental work.

''A scientific edition of one of the tractates...''

-Excuse me. -We'll ask him.

Excuse me, please.

We don't need this.

-''His relationship with his son...'' -Excuse me.

Yes, sorry.

lt's an introduction to a scientific edition.

Did you hear, Yoav? Add ''introduction.''

Say something.

What should l say?

-Count to 10. -Delete it.

''To which he has dedicated his life.''

One, two, three...

Keep going. Louder.

Four...

-Louder. -Four.

-Louder please. -Five.

Six.

Professor Shkolnik.

Professor Shkolnik, where are you going? Wait.

Professor Shkolnik!

Fortresses

Miscellaneous

Judges' Considerations

Professor Shkolnik's fortress

Professor Shkolnik's fortress

Fortress: Fort, Strong, fortified building.

Shelter

Shield

Uriel Shkolnik On ldentity and Memory

The Fortress of Professor Urbach

The Fortress of Professor

Uriel

By Uriel Shkolnik

The Fortress of Professor Herman is deployed

So, thank you, for this distinction,

for the personal example you set,

for the way of life in our home,

for the cultural fortress you built around us.

Prof, Yehuda Grossman, chairman

But my father insisted and forced me to write ''teacher.''

He also demanded to see the form,

as only a manuscript researcher knows,

to make sure l didn't make a mistake,

or left space on the line, to add something.

Yehuda Grossman + Fortress

Search

No results

Professor Shkolnik?

I imagine you want to tell your loved ones.

I just want to say, a registered letter was mailed to you today.

The prize supervisor will contact you to answer any questions.

If I'm not mistaken, we'll meet on the 19th.

At a conference, before the Israel Prize ceremony.

Conferences

Minister of Education

Again, congratulations.

Uriel Shkolnik

Thank you.

-Hello, Professor Shkolnik? -Hello.

I assume you know why I'm calling.

No.

Why is she calling?

I'm happy to announce that you'll receive the Israel Prize this year.

Congratulations.

-Professor Shkolnik? -Yes.

I'm happy this prize is going to you on my watch.

There are so few opportunities to openly thank people like you

in the public arena.

I'm excited for you and proud of your achievements,

your research and your educational activity.

lf one has to define our profession, the nature of our craft,

Thanks... We teachers... Cultural Fortress...

the essence of this totality,

Sifted flour

that takes over every second of our lives.

lmportant shift

We are teachers.

l'm not a teacher!

l'm a philologist!

I'm a philologist!

Fortress is deployed:

To ambush

To destroy

A path fraught with danger

Hunted animals

Hunt

Mice

This is the way the state and all its institutions

to say, ''Thank you. ''

Trap

lnternational Convention Center, Jerusalem

Congratulate the lsrael Award recipients

Professor Eliezer Shkolnik

...three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, two, two, three, three, two, three, go.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, four,

five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, two, two, three, three, two, three, four, two, three,

five, six, seven, eight.

One, two, three, two, two, three, three, two, three, four.

Five, six...

Hello, Professor Shkolnik. We need you at the rehearsal, please.

Every year, at least one recipient gets confused on this stage.

It seems simple, but it isn't.

So I will have a separate rehearsal with each one of you.

Listen carefully,

it's important to pay attention to details.

We don't want to see you fall,

or bump into a stand, or trip over a cable.

These things have happened.

I'll explain, and in the end, you'll get it.

Professor Shkolnik, we will rehearse now.

Professor Shkolnik?

You are the recipient for Talmud Research.

Stand up, please. Get up, on your feet, get up.

When your name is called out, get up. Yes, get up.

You stand like that until you hear the judges' considerations.

Now, step out. To your left.

Here, right in front.

Do you see the President?

Come, here's my hand. We're going over to the President.

We approach him, and you shake his hand.

Shake his hand.

Shake it with your right.

The President

Shake his hand. Very good, you shook his hand.

We walk over to the Prime Minister, to get the certificate.

Receive the certificate.

Excellent.

Hand it to the attendant at your right. Give it to her.

Good.

Shake hands with the Prime Minister.

Now the Chairman of the Knesset.

Shake his hand.

Shake it, shake it.

lsrael Prize Presentation Ceremony

Good evening and happy holiday to our viewers at home,

and to the audience at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem.

Welcome to the presentation ceremony of the Israel Prize for this year.

Good evening, Danny Kushmaro.

Good evening to you, Meirav Miller,

and good evening to the recipients of the Israel Prize.

As every year, we have convened on Independence Day in Jerusalem,

to bestow the Israel Prizes.

Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem, Hatikva.