- The most difficult day in the life
of Prof. Shkolnik -
I'm going downstairs.
Are you coming?
Prof. Uriel Shkolnik, head of the
Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies
at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,
as well as a colleague in the Max Copper
Cathedral of Jewish Thought,
a tenured professor for Talmud studies
and an international expert
in the study of the Talmud and Hazal Literature.
Among the prizes he has won are:
the Bialik Prize for Hebrew Studies,
the Jerusalem Prize for Rabbinical Literature,
the Kaplan Prize and the Orbach Prize.
To the Israel Museum, please.
He was elected as a member of the American Academy
for Jewish Studies in New York.
His research and innovations are
gathered in nine books
and dozens of articles,
discussing subjects such as marital relations
during the Hazal period,
law and morality in the world
of the scholars
and memory and identity during the
Babylon diaspora.
Prof. Shkolnik's scientific achievements
show the depth and courage
of his thought process,
his wide range of knowledge,
and his ability to view problems
in a new light
in the field of editing the Mishna,
Jewish culture,
and the history of intellectualism.
Because of all of the above, and more,
the Committee for Presenting Candidates
in the Dept. of Human Sciences has decided,
with the approval of the High Committee,
the president and vice-president of the Academy,
and by the decision of the General Assembly,
to accept Prof. Shkolnik
as the newest member of the
National Israeli Academy of Sciences.
Welcome, Prof. Shkolnik!
We are proud to have you join us, sir.
- Thank you.
His honor, President Shimon Peres,
the president of the National Israeli
Academy of Sciences, Prof. Yehuda Grossman,
my fellow members of the academy,
my father, my teacher, Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik,
who is here in the audience tonight.
My mother, Dr. Yehudit Shkolnik,
family members,
friends, esteemed colleagues.
I have learned a lot from my teachers,
and have stood on the shoulders of giants.
That is how I feel tonight,
as I stand in front of you on this stage,
somewhat embarrassed, grateful,
and mostly filled with appreciation
to those I've learned from.
I want to tell you a story.
When I was a child, maybe 8 years old,
I came back from school one day
with a form I had to fill in
with my personal information,
which also included a field for
"Father's profession".
I knew that my father
worked at the university,
that he was very busy there, that he
studied the Talmud and old books
and that he's a professor,
but I didn't know if that
really was a profession...
If that's what they meant
by "Father's profession".
So I asked my father what
I should write as "Father's profession".
And he told me, without any doubts:
"Write down 'teacher'."
"Teacher?", I said. "You're no teacher.
I have teachers at school.
"You're not like them.
You're a professor!"
My mother, who was in the room next door
and listened to our conversation,
called out: "Write down 'Talmud scholar'
or 'Talmud lecturer'!
"I mean, write down 'Senior lecturer
of Talmud in the Hebrew University'".
But my father insisted
and made me
write down "teacher".
He also demanded to see the form,
as one would expect from a manuscripts expert.
To make sure I did not make a mistake,
or left a blank space to add something
after he went away.
I wrote "T E A C H E R" on the entire line.
"That's my profession, a teacher",
he said.
And I... I was disappointed.
I was ashamed.
What kid goes around school
bragging about his teacher father?
A lecturer, maybe... But a teacher?
Several years have passed since then,
and today I know two things
I didn't know at the time.
First, even a senior lecturer of Talmud
in the Hebrew University
is not something that children
brag about in school.
And the second thing, more seriously,
and now I'm being serious,
if we really have to define our profession,
accurately describe the nature
of what we do,
the "essence" of this vast entity
that takes over
every second of our professional lives,
and, to be honest,
our private lives,
our aspirations,
our social relations, our dreams...
We are teachers.
We give others knowledge,
we take from previous generations,
and give forward, to the next generation.
This is our duty.
So thank you, father,
for this insight,
for being a role model,
for the way of life you instilled in our house,
for the cultural fortress
you built around us.
When your grandchildren, my children,
ask me what is my profession
I tell them with great pride,
just like you did,
that I am a teacher.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
It's nothing. It's just one lecture.
a dinner, and some one-on-one conversations.
Beside that, I'm free.
I can't complain.
I'll be in New York
on February 6th,
so maybe we could meet then.
No, a "fundraiser" of the friends of the university.
Sure, at the Pierre.
Otherwise, do you think Tzila
would have came with me?
Listen,
I'm at the Israel Museum,
and I can't talk inside,
so I went outside.
I have to go back.
Nothing, just some ceremony
of the National Academy of Sciences.
Where to, Sir?
I was inside earlier.
- Inside where?
Here, at the ceremony.
I just went out for a moment.
Can you fold your sleeve, please?
Why?
What's your name?
- Eliezer Shkolnik.
And which ceremony is this?
I beg your pardon?
- Please... - Thank you.
Which ceremony is taking place here?
I don't understand what's the problem.
I was inside earlier.
I didn't say there was a problem.
Just asked which ceremony this is.
Please, go inside.
What's the name of this event?
- Don't you know?
I do know.
- So why are you asking me?
Go ahead...
What did you say your name was?
Sir? - Explain to me what's the problem.
I'm already in the area,
I went through the security check
at the main enterance...
Sir, I'm just doing my job,
there's no need to become irate, Mr...
Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik.
Are you a member of the
National Academy of Sciences? - No.
So what is your relation with this event?
Is everything OK?
- Do you know him? - Of course.
Is there a problem? - No, sir.
Everything is fine. Thanks.
Are you sure?
- Yes, thank you.
Alright, sir. You can go inside.
There you go, sir.
- No.
Finish your procedure.
If you think I'm suspicious,
or that I shouldn't be here, then go ahead,
finish your procedure.
You can call one of your supervisors.
I'll wait here patiently.
Maybe you should call for backup,
just in case, or a robot...
Don't be upset, sir,
it's not something personal.
It's just that anyone who passes through the
main gate should have a blue bracelet...
and you don't have one.
So I just wanted to make sure.
I apologize if I caused you discomfort.
Go ahead...
So now you're an ideologue!
You're not talking like a researcher,
but like an ideologue.
He's studying manuscripts like a monk,
just like Boyarin.
What he's trying to do
is to extract Anthropology
out of Hermeneutics.
You totally misunderstood the artice...
All of his articles are the same...
- Historically speaking...
The entire oeuvre of Boyarin... - Historically speaking,
the Orthodox Christianity,
the entire discourse over gender and sexuality
is metaphorical,
it's not concrete.
- But what's the relation
between body techniques
and analytical practices?
It's like this new de-feminizing of the Jewish man
during the Hazal period.
Yes, but that's an anti-colonial argument.
- What're you talking about?
He's trying to de-feminize the Jewish man
during the Hazal period,
to say that this sissy man, as opposed
to the virile Roman man
with this metal helmet
and spiked leather shoes...
Actually, he says that
what the Zionist movement did
was to turn the Jewish man
from a feminine man
to a machoistic man, which
destroyed the Jewish history.
So if that's what you're saying...
Could you get a bit closer?
A little bit more, please.
And smile, please.
I can do it on my own!
Kids, do you have enough space?
Shall I move forward?
Everything's fine, don't worry.
Dad, are you coming?
I'll walk.
No way. There's enough place.
Yosh, make room for grandpa.
I'd rather walk.
Are you serious? You're not coming?
I need the exercise after
sitting for so long.
I'll walk. - Do you have the keys?
- Yes.
Yosh, close the door.
Why isn't grandpa a member of the
National Academy of Sciences?
Eliezer...
Congratulations.
Your son is doing great.
- Some things you should know
about Eliezer Shkolnik -
- 1. His Research -
Eliezer Shkolnik made a
revolutionary claim:
That there was another version
of the Jerusalem Talmud
in Europe during the early Renaissance,
which is different to the version
we have today.
He arrived to that conclusion because he
found slight differences in the texts
between our version and the quotes
from the Jerusalem version
done by the scholars of that time.
There are hundreds,
maybe even thousands of these books,
and for each book there are
various manuscript versions.
And Eliezer Shkolnik went over all of them,
during nearly 30 years...
It's an incredible project. Incredible!
And a very presumptuous one as well.
But then, a month before he was going to publish
the first volume
of this monumental work,
his life work,
another researcher, Prof. Yehuda Grossman,
totally by accident, has found
inside the bindings of some books
in an Italian monastery
a manuscript of that version
of the Jerusalem Talmud.
He found a complete original copy
the scholars in Europe had at the time.
Thus making Shkolnik's work obsolete.
That actually proved Shkolnik's thesis,
but Grossman published it before him.
- 2. For 40 years, each day, -
- he walks from his home in Rechavia
to the National Library,
always in the same route. -
- In any weather. -
A momentary lapse of concentration by the copier,
who jumps from one word to another,
is called "Haplography".
- 3. He refused to cancel his annual course. -
And sometime it's those degenerated manuscripts
- Even though only 1 student registered. -
are those that preserve the missing sentence, such as...
Does that mean that hospitality is more important
than observing the Sabbath?
- 4. His favourite sentence is: -
That's a very good idea... very good...
but wrong!
My father says it corresponds with
what Levinas says.
- His second most favorite sentence is: -
- Yes... "The word of fools is no proof."
The truth is, that in reality,
there are no beautiful things.
- 5. For 16 years straight -
- he has been mentioned
for the Israel Prize -
- Others have always won. -
- 6. His most proud achievement
is the footnote
- dedicated to him by Y.N. Feinstein -
- in his monumental book -
- "Introduction to the Literature
of the Tana'im" -
"... and my dear friend, student and acquittance,
E. Shkolnik commented to me..."
Haven't I told you that story?
- No. - It was really extreme.
He forced me to write down "teacher".
He grabbed my hand
and smashed it against the paper.
I had blue marks for a week.
Haven't I told you about it?
Why didn't he want you to write
"Talmud scholar" or "Researcher"?
He felt disrespected to be questioned
by a school teacher.
He's a mess about it. He's a philologist,
but who knows what that is?
In my mind,
he was someone important,
an international expert.
I kept hearing that there are
maybe four people in the world
who understand what he's doing,
and when he'll complete his research
the entire world will know
what a great researcher he is.
But in meantime no one understood him,
but me.
I cried all the way to school.
I didn't hand that form in, finally.
And that's the story you choose to tell?
- I made him look good. Modest, no?
It's like if Yosh would have
told all of your friends
about what a dedicated father you are,
because you "encouraged" him to take
the SAT's while in high-school.
I did encourage him.
- Yeah, just like they do in the Shin-Bet.
If I hadn't done what I did,
he would have had no options.
At least now he can choose
not to do anything with his life.
Whatever.
- Some things you should know
about Uriel Shkolnik -
- 1. On Shavuot Eve he gives
Here's an interesting anecdote
about Gdalyahu Alon.
He changed his name to Alon
because in Greek...
What is it similar to?
A person who...
I heard once a nice idea...
I think that if you neutralize
the classic interpretation of the text...
The deep core...
I'm moving now to the end
of the paragraph...
"May all of your offshoots
will be like you..."
I'll tell you something
that my father told me once:
- 2. An amazing lecturer -
There are a lot of true things
in your work,
and a lot of new things.
- Challenging and fun :-) -
Thank you very much.
The problem is that the new things
are not true, and the true things are not new.
That isn't necessarily bad.
- Perfect! -
- 3. The birth of their youngest daughter -
I love to hear you talk, no matter about what.
You always help me make sense of things.
All kinds of subjects I didn't
have an opinion about,
the moment you talk about them,
I immediately agree with you.
- 4. Things said about him behind his back -
A relationship is like a tree,
it needs strong, yet invisible, roots,
firmly planted... - Let's say it this way:
You want to be on his good side.
He won't harass you or anything
like that, but...
If you disagree with him, even
on the smallest of subjects,
you'll be out of the department
within a couple of years.
He expects you to be in a
constant state of mild admiration.
Congratulations to the young couple!
- Congratulations!
A new home in Israel!
Quiet... Your father discovered
something very important today,
he can't be disturbed now.
- 5. The moment he decided to become
a Talmud scholar. -
- The happiest day in the life
of Prof. Shkolnik -
- In Memoriam Prof. Menahem Stern,
murdered on this spot on his way
to the National Library -
This is he.
Regarding to what?
Seriously? Publish it like that?
You can't work on it for 80 years.
You have to keep moving,
or you'll fall back.
Are you sure?
That means Eldad and Midad are
Moses' half-brothers. That's huge.
I'm never certain.
Yes!
Good morning, sir. Go on.
Please go ahead, sir.
Someone took my bag and clothes.
Are you sure you didn't leave it
in the other room?
They stole my bag, with all of my clothes!
My wallet, my mobile phone,
my watch, my glasses...
Maybe someone just moved it.
Why would someone move my clothes?
Would you like me to talk
to the guard?
No, that's fine.
Would you like to borrow my clothes?
Hey, Sarah.
This is our Lost and Found section.
Good morning.
It was like there was someone else there.
No him. And who's that woman?
What were they doing in an isolated garden
all by themselves? That's really scary!
... at home? Eliez...
I was looking for you.
Have you had lunch yet?
- Not yet.
What's the matter? - I was called by
the Ministry of Education today.
They decided to give me
the Israel Prize this year.
I've just heard. Congratulations!
- Thanks.
Better late than never.
- Amazing, no?
Did you talk to him?
Is he ecstatic?
My mother says he's in shock.
You look like you're in shock.
He has given up on it.
He's been passed over for 20 years.
The things he said
about this prize...
He's hated anyone who won it
for years now.
One is a "dilettante", the other
"an historical anomaly", the third "a folklorist".
He has to reboot his entire personality.
Do you know who was in the committee?
That's the odd thing. I think
that Grossman was the chairman.
Could it be that he finally
grew a heart?
Your father is a great man. You don't need
a heart to know that. Just common sense.
In my opinion he's the greatest
researcher of our times.
He has an integrity that you don't
find in the faculty anymore.
Or anywhere else...
Thank you very much.
We're very happy.
...and Grandfather stayed with
the soldiers of Franz Josef.
The war continued on...
And they waited
for a sign that they can come out.
Eventually, the Cossacks retreated...
I'm very happy for him.
- I know. - He deserves it.
But he is so weird.
When I hugged him tonight,
I couldn't recognize him.
His smell...
It was the smell of a foreigner.
I don't know who that man is...
and he's my father.
It was very touching
to see him like that,
like an anorexic girl who starts
to eat all of a sudden. - He deserves it.
The image of him with that woman...
it's inconceivable!
You really think he's having
an affair?
Don't know. Everything's possible.
If so, it's hilarious, isn't it?
Where does he get the courage?
- What does that have to do with it?
You need a lot of courage
to risk everything you have
just for some...
momentary desire.
Maybe it's not momentary...
Still, he has a lot to lose.
Is that why you're not cheating on me?
You have too much to lose?
Who said I wasn't?
You're not.
How come you're so sure?
Because you're a coward.
So my father has courage
and I'm a coward...
He follows his truth to the bitter end,
and is willing to pay the price.
You're a nice man
who's afraid to confront others...
me included.
I don't understand.
What are you saying?
Do you want me to confront you?
Because I can.
No, I'm glad you don't want to
ruin our family.
All I'm saying is it's not because of
loyalty, but of fear.
I love you. I really do.
I know.
"The winners of this year's Israel Prize were announced
in the fields of Jewish Studies and Rabbinical Literature."
Father will be pissed off...
"Prof. Shmuel Tarshish from Bar Ilan University,
in the field of studying the Midrash and the Agada.
"and Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik, for his contribution
to the study of the Talmud."
That's it?
- Yeah.
They didn't say why he won?
Or who were the judges?
"...and Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik, for his contribution
to the study of the Talmud."
"Misc."
- Footnote -
Good morning.
- Prof. Shkolnik? - Uriel, yes.
This is Shoshi from Galei Zahal.
This is regarding this morning's news.
It was my father, not me.
- I know.
But it could be interesting if you'd
explain a bit what he's doing,
and you can congratulate him on air...
- Thanks for contacting me,
but I don't really want to do it.
Call him, interview him.
He's not answering the phone.
Do you have his mobile number?
Sorry, I have to hang up now.
Good morning.
- Uriel?
That's me.
- Yonah Salomon.
Yonah Salomon...
I'm an advisor to the Minister of Eduction,
regarding this year's Israel Prize.
- Fuck these call waiting-calls!
They're calling me non-stop, damn it!
- I'm sorry to interrupt you,
but we need to meet you ASAP.
- Who is "we"?
Me and the person in charge of the
Israel Prizes in the Ministry.
I didn't hear...
Could you repeat it?
Can you be here in an hour? This is not
something to discuss on the phone.
Now I'm nervous. What is this about?
- Come here and we'll explain everything.
I'll be in Sarah Fodor's room,
on the fourth floor.
Yonah, tell me everything is OK,
you're stressing me out.
Everything will be fine,
but now it's a bit of a mess...
- I'm not a child, come on.
What is this about? Did you discover
that my father's a serial killer?
Did he insult the Ethiopian immigrants?
Someone is not happy that he won?
So he has enemies, so what?
Stop speculating.
Be here in an hour, OK?
OK.
- Mother calling -
Thanks for the ride.
One moment,
do you have food? Water?
- Yes, yes.
Do you have a hat?
You'll be alright?
- Yeah, don't worry.
When will you be back?
- Thursday or Friday.
I don't have the mobile,
so tell mom not to worry.
- The Ministry of Education -
It's good you came.
Could you grab a chair
from the room in front?
Let me introduce everyone.
I'm Yonah,
the Minister's advisor
to the Israel Prize,
Mrs. Sarah Fodor, in charge
of the section of the Israel Prizes,
Dvir Oded, the Ministry's legal advisor,
and I assume you know the members of
the committee... - Yes, I do.
Prof. Yehuda Grossman, chairman.
Prof. Adiel Glass,
and Prof. Daniel Herman.
Would you like something to drink?
- No, thank you.
Shall we begin?
You're probably want to know why
we called you here in such short notice.
You don't want to know which
scenarios went through my head.
I bet you didn't think of this one...
- So please, rid me of my misery.
Could we close the door?
Thank you.
Actually, we have some good news
and some bad news.
What would you like to hear first?
- Could we stop with the games?
The bad news are that, unfortunately,
your father
will not receive the Israel Prize
this year.
I must stop you before you continue.
You should speak with my father, not with me.
I'm his son, but if there's
a problem with the prize,
you shouldn't talk to me about it.
I don't understand why I'm here.
Let me go on, and then you'll understand.
This brings me to the good news.
No news can be good right now.
- It is that you...
will receive the Prize this year.
I beg your pardon?!
We're still trying to find out how this
happened. But it's probably due to...
a clerical error by a secretary
in the Minister's office.
She called your father instead of you, and...
The minister talked to him,
thinking she was talking to you.
This never happened to us before.
The legal advisor is here as well to...
to advise us on how to act
in this new situation.
Let me get this straight:
You called my father by mistake?
The minister had an entire conversation
thinking that she's talking with me?
As far as we could gather, yes.
I've never heard such an idiotic story.
The ramifications are terrible,
you know that, don't you?
Thats' why we wanted to speak to you,
to consult about what's the best way to proceed.
How could you confuse my phone number
with that of my father?
And why didn't you verify you had the right man,
before letting the Minister talk to him?
The secretary says that she called
the university
and asked to talk with Prof. Shkolnik.
She doesn't remember if she
mentioned the first name...
Since you were not there,
she asked for your mobile number
and then she dialled the number
she received from the faculty.
And your first names
start with the same letter.
One can understand how
such a mistake could happen.
But it didn't happen until now.
What about the press release?
You don't send something in writing?
We sent the letter to you, of course. You're
supposed to receive it soon, maybe today.
We didn't make the press release. - But there
was a report about it in Haaretz today.
The reporter must have heard
about it somehow, but not from us.
We're still trying to find out where
the journalist got the information from.
Anyone that knows can see it's not
the regular text we use.
I need a minute to think.
Excuse me. - Prof. Shkolnik...
It's a disaster. You have no idea.
- Prof. Shkolnik, I must ask you
not to talk to anyone
about this right now.
Maybe we should discuss this here,
in the room? - Let him calm down outside.
You're not going to call
anybody, right?
I don't know how to respond
to this error, except by saying
that now it's too late to
turn back the wheel.
You told my father he won
the Prize. You can't take it back.
Anyway, how did I become a candidate?
As far as I know,
no one recommended me. I asked
anyone who's involved in that
not to nominate me
as long as my father's a nominee.
And I know that he's been
nominated for many years now,
because I'm the one
who's nominating him each time.
I recommended you.
According to the rules, judges can
recommend their own candidates.
So I recommended you.
Each one of us wrote down
a name on a note
that he wanted to select
from the nominees.
And all of us, unanimously,
chose you.
We all think you deserve
to win this year.
What a mess.
I would like, if I may,
to focus on the legal aspects.
The winner can't be changed.
The reason we wanted
to consult with you
is what's the best way
to tell your father about the mistake.
Yes, well... The legal aspect
of it is all fine and well,
but we're talking about matters
of life and death here.
My father has been skipped over
for the last 20 years!
When he finally thinks that he's won,
you can't take it away from him.
It will kill him.
I'm not joking.
It will kill him.
And he deserves it, damn it!
He deserves to win the Israel Prize!
Someone else should be saying it!
- Enough!
This mistake should not have happened,
but once it did, we need to fix it,
not make it worse.
We are not discussing whether
Eliezer Shkolnik should win the Israel Prize.
So what do you suggest,
as the chairman of the committee?
The Minister should invite
Eliezer Shkolnik today,
to apologize to him and...
to congratulate him for this son
winning the prize. It's very simple.
Can you really imagine that happening?
My father coming to the office of the Minister,
not knowing why,
only to be told that the prize
is taken away from him...
And on top of that, that it's given
to his son instead?
I can't imagine it, because
it will not happen.
- I'm telling you right now:
If the winner is changed, I'm resigning
from the role of chairman. - Hold on,
Prof. Grossman, there's no need
to make grand proclamations.
Let's think about it for a moment.
Maybe it's not such a bad idea.
Eliezer Shkolnik has been nominated for years.
If Uriel is willing to give up the prize,
why shouldn't we consider giving it
to his father?
No way. You're exposing the Ministry
to a huge lawsuit.
If this becomes public...
Don't even think about it.
Why should it? Everyone who knows is in this room.
We'll have to talk to the Minister,
but we all want to keep this
between us.
It's not just a convenient solution,
it's the right and moral thing to do.
This injustice has been going on for years.
- Absolutely not!
Eliezer Shkolnik will never win the
Israel Prize under my watch.
I won't sign it off.
I'm sorry, Uriel, you know
I appreciate your work,
which is why I gave
the prize to you.
To you, not to the entire
Shkolnik family.
You may not pass this honour
on to your father.
This entire discussion is absurd!
The three of you have already
won the Israel Prize.
You know what it's like, the feeling
on the day you first hear about it.
Especially when it's someone
who for years felt
ostracized and boycotted, and then
the gates open in front of him,
and he hears: "Welcome.
We accept you,
"and appreciate you."
To take away from him the serenity
that was given to him yesterday, is murder.
If the Israel Prize was given based
on compassion or charity,
the entire thing would have looked
differently.
We must maintain a consistently
high standard, without compromises.
So please tell me
why my father doesn't deserve
to win the Prize.
Compared to others.
Seriously, why not?
Is he any less compared to Hecht,
or to Goldberg, or Schefferman?
Notice I'm not mentioning any
of the people in this room!
I can argue why others
do deserve it.
But I'm not going to tell you
the faults I find in
your father's research.
Of course. Because that lets you hide
the fact that your resentment toward him
is personal, not professional.
- I don't know what you're implying,
but it's not relevant.
- I'm not implying,
I'm saying it explicitly. I think
that you hate my father.
For years you've been preventing his
promotion, hiding manuscripts from him,
sabotaging him in various committees
and publications.
His close relation with Feinstein
infuriated you while you were young
and to this day it distorts
your judgement!
You could have given him the Jerusalem
manuscript that you found.
He worked on it for 30 years,
it belongs to him!
It's his life's work, his entire world.
Everyone knew that!
But you published it
before he did. Why?
You should have disqualified yourself
when you knew that my father
was one of the nominees.
Everyone in the room knows it.
And anyone with even
a tiny bit of decency!
My response to these
harsh accusations
I have to keep in my heart.
No son should hear about his father
what I can tell you about him.
So I'm asking you,
don't push me,
and let things be as they are.
But you're not denying the fact
that between you and my father
there is a decades long rivalry.
Why didn't you disqualify yourself?
Now when I think about it...
I suspect you voted for me
just to spite him.
You knew how much it would
hurt him to see me win
while he was nominated.
You knew that.
I would like to adjourn.
Either my opinion is accepted,
and the Minister informs
Eliezer Shkolnik that there was an error
or I resign.
And if I resigned, the reason for it
would become public anyway.
There must be transparency.
Same transparency with which
you run the Mishna Project?
Which for the past 20 years
allowed you to decide who gets access,
and who doesn't, to manuscripts?
The same transparency with which you blocked
the promotion of someone here,
and we all know who,
just because you were afraid
he was going to disprove your thesis
about the distribution of the scrolls?
Or maybe the transparency with which you've
prevented from Ariella Ascher her doctorate,
while she was dying,
a month before her death,
while her family members beg you
to approve her doctorate!
very cruelly,
just because her instructor
happened to be my father?
So let's talk about transparency,
Prof. Grossman.
I too know how to talk
with journalists
and I have a feeling that from
all the people in this room
you're the first one who should
want to keep it quiet.
Let me out of here!
- This meeting is not adjourned.
The only achievement of your father,
is Feinstein's footnote dedicated to him.
Beside that, he hasn't published
anything of any worth.
And do you know why Feinstein
mentioned him?
Because he knew that your father
is no longer a threat to him.
He had so much contempt to him
that he was willing to share
that lousy credit with him.
And he knew how much your father
needed that.
You don't get the Israel Prize
for that.
Now move away from the door,
please.
Move away, I said!
- You psycho son of a bitch!
Professor...
I want the minutes
from this meeting.
We don't keep minutes,
as you well know.
I'm sorry I pushed you.
I shouldn't have done it.
Everyone, calm down.
Are you alright, Prof. Grossman?
We're exaggerating a bit.
- No...
We're not.
We're not...
Give me a couple of hours, I'll...
I'll tell my father.
Excuse me.
Who is it?
It's Uriel Shkolnik.
Is my father there?
Sure. Come in.
Here you go, Uriel.
Would you like to say something
about your father's achievement?
Did you talk to Yosh?
When is he coming back?
Don't know, in a day or two.
In a day, or in two?
- I don't know!
I'm sorry.
Talk to him.
You got some registered mail.
I can't do it.
I can't...
Ever since I became a Professor,
he stopped being happy for me,
all of my achievements
are at his expense.
And I know he's blaming me
that I'm ruining this world,
which was supposed to be his.
He might survive this blow,
maybe he'll even enjoy it.
It will be another proof that everyone
but him is an amateur. But he'll hate me.
If I'll tell him
about this mistake,
I'll be burying our relation
for good.
There's no greater betrayal
in your father and his principles
than what you're asking me to do.
With all of my critique of him,
he never looked the other way
just because it was convenient.
You know that. - Yes, but he wouldn't.
- We'll know. -So what?
It makes a mockery of the entire system.
It means there are things
more important than the truth.
Like what? Family?
Just like your father, I know
something about the price you pay
for cutting corners,
for giving up on the truth.
Enough already with this "truth"! How much aggression
you hide behind that concept of "truth".
I'm fed up with this romanticism of yours.
You don't care about truth,
but about honour,
just like everyone else.
Look what a terrible thing
you're doing in the name of "truth".
It's just a prize.
A prize, that's all.
It's not a betrayal of anything.
It's just something small,
and nice that you can do for...
a colleague, if you'll just be
a bit more flexible!
A tiny bit.
That's all I'm asking you to do.
I agree, under two conditions:
The first is that you'll write
the judges' decision.
I'll sign it, but you'll write it.
And the second condition is
that you'll never be nominated
for the Israel Prize.
And make sure that others
won't nominate you as well.
Not now,
or after my or your father's death.
Uriel, I gave the Israel Prize to you.
As far as I'm concerned,
it's yours.
If you want to pass it on,
for family reasons,
I won't stop you from doing that.
But if that's your decision,
then it's final.
Even if only you and I
know about it.
- Prof. Shkolnik's revenge -
Hello. - Hey.
You're the reporter from Haaretz?
- Yes, Noa. Nice to meet you.
Come in.
- Thank you.
I hope it's alright
I'm a bit early.
Eliezer is a stickler for timeliness.
- Wow, it's a very beautiful place.
When I studied in the "Hebrew",
I always wanted to live here.
- You studied in the Hebrew University? -Yes.
What did you study?
- Philosophy and History of Art.
You didn't study with Eliezer?
- I'm afraid not.
But I attended some of your
son's lectures. - That's nice.
I wanted to ask
maybe you have some interesting
photos of Prof. Shkolnik for the article,
it could be very nice.
Maybe a photo of him
with your son, Prof. Uriel Shkolnik?
OK... I'll look for it. Excuse me.
- Hello.
Nice to meet you. I'm Noa.
Are you comfortable here?
Would you rather to sit by a table? - It's fine.
Wherever you prefer.
Is it OK if I record
our conversation?
Shall we?
Could you tell me your life story
in general lines? "I was born... raised... studied..."
I was born in Jerusalem.
My parents immigrated to Israel
in 1932.
My father was a hats merchant...
What do you mean by
"in general lines"?
"The judges' decision"
Let's start some other way.
Maybe you could tell me a bit
about your research?
"Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik,
"the renowned student
of the late Prof.
"Yonah Naftali Feinstein
in Jerusalem
"did groundbreaking research
"in the study of the Jerusalem Talmud..."
My research focuses on mapping
the branches of the Talmud's text.
Mapping the branches of
the Israeli Talmud,
The Jerusalem Talmud,
whose printed version,
the one being taught today,
is very problematic,
philologically speaking.
"And his researches...
"And his research,
during the last decades..."
Did you say, "The Introduction to the Literature
of the Tana'im"? -Without the definite article.
"Introduction to the Literature of the Tana'im",
by Y.N. Feinstein.
Out of the thousands of footnotes
in this book,
I'm the only one who's still alive,
who Prof. Feinstein
mentions by name.
"His many publications...
"few publications in various subjects...
"his publications are like chaffed wheat...
"a little that holds a lot."
From my conversations with
your colleagues I understood that...
during the last couple of years
you had a lot of criticism
about the way the Israel Prizes
were awarded.
"His vast knowledge
in the Hazal Literature
"and his creativity...
"and his meticulous research..."
I think that the Israel Prize lost
a lot of its prestige lately.
When they started to hand out
the Jewish Sciences Prize
to those who study the Rabbinical Literature,
which is actually just folklore.
So what you are...
- What?
Sorry. Continue. - Those who won
during the last couple of years
can't be called real researchers.
Researches about the use of
ratchets in the Hazal period
or anecdotes about the marital life
of some ancient scholar,
or about cookies recipes
from the Babylon Diaspora period,
are not true researches,
and they don't...
bring honour to the
Israel Prize institute.
This is a somewhat uncomfortable
situation for me
since they decided
to award me the prize,
but in all modesty,
I hope that choosing me would mean
returning to the days
when truly deep and meticulous research
was appreciated,
not just because it was meant
for the consumption of the general public.
Didn't your son write a book about
marital relations during the Hazal period?
Uriel wrote many books.
"The greatness and uniqueness
"of Prof. Shkolnik..."
How come that in one family two people
are involved in such a narrow field?
"Prof. Shkolnik's fortress
"spans all the branches
of the Talmudic Literature
"as well as its counterparts
in present-day culture."
Is there a father-son rivalry?
Like is says in the Babli Sanhadrin:
"A man should be jealous of all,
except his son and his student."
My impression was that
the two of you represent
almost opposite approaches to research.
Who gave you that impression?
I spoke to people, and...
and I read your son's book.
Let me demonstrate it for you thusly:
Let's say we both study earthenware.
Broken pottery.
One looks at these pots,
cleans them meticulously,
catalogs and sorts them,
measures them in a
scientific and accurate fashion,
tries to figure out their period
and maker,
and if he is successful,
then he did his job well,
and his research will be used
for generations to come!
The other looks at the broken pots
for a couple of seconds,
sees that they have
the same colour, more or less,
and immediately
constructs a vase out of them.
He doesn't care that they might
come from different periods,
that they don't quite fit,
as long as you have a vase!
The vase is very pretty,
but it has nothing to do with
the scientific truth. It's an empty vessel,
a fairy tale,
without touch with reality!
It sounds like this vase infuriates you...
- There is no vase!
That's the entire point. It's fiction.
You can't be angry at something that doesn't exist.
Does this dispute manifest itself
in your family life?
Uriel is very good
at what he does,
but I wouldn't call it
"Talmud Studies".
"His work is the infrastructure
"for all of those who
study the Talmud.
"Due to all of the aforementioned,
the jury finds Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik
"deserving the Israel Prize."
Did you hear the conversation?
Partially.
Was I clear enough? - I think so.
I didn't hear all of it.
I hope she'll be accurate.
She's a total ignoramus.
"Of his son: he has nothing to do with the
scientific truth. An empty vessel.
Without touch with reality"
" A high-brow family soap opera"
" the young charlatan... "
"An empty vessel."
"The jury's decision"
"Re: Israel Prize"
Did you happen to check the
text in the Oxford manuscript? - No.
Yitzhak Ber's article about this subject?
- No.
Menachem Ben-Sason?
Reuven Bunfil? Salo Brown?
Those are the relevant researchers
to your paper starting with B.
I read good and bad papers,
but yours requires a whole new category.
Measuring bits of clay all day,
without any interesting conclusions,
is that science?
It's masturbation!
What are you doing?
- What are you doing?
Nothing.
What are you going to do? - When? -
Tomorrow morning, maybe,
in a week, in 3 years...
Do you have some kind of plan?
I'm so close to giving up on you.
Do you understand what it means
when a father gives up on his son?
Do you understand what that means?
Let me tell you.
You're one millimeter away
from the point of no-return
in your life's path.
Giving up on you means that
instead of trying to help you,
before it's too late,
I want to see you suffer,
so I could gloat.
That's what it means.
If you have a problem with your autistic
father, shout at him, not at Yosh!
I told you to talk with him.
Not to take a bat and kick his ass.
You have only one role
in this house: to be a mother.
Now you want me
to do that as well?
"If he's not right,
then look for another,
"If you'll find a young man
"a nice man, a smiling man
"I'll finally have a husband."
Today I'm not just the driver,
I'm also a horse.
So how is it so far?
Did you get any responses
about the article? - A few.
I don't think many people
found it interesting.
And it was in the back pages,
so it was difficult...
Talk to him.
- Really...
Let him apologize.
- Has he ever?
I don't need his apology.
I don't care about him!
A fine dowry you gave to my daughter Tzeitel
on the day of her marriage.
I ask you:
was that really necessary?
Never mind, never mind.
Either way, Motel and Tzeitel are married
for two months now, working hard at it...
Change places with me, please.
But they are so happy, they
don't know how miserable they are.
This year's Israel Prize was supposed to be
given to me, not to father,
but because of a clerical error,
he got the message instead of me
and when that become known,
I gave up the prize for him.
No one knows it, but you.
Not even Dikla.
"Tradition, tradition...
"tradition, tradition...
Come in.
- Prof. Shkolnik's fortress -
This is your first TV interview, right?
You shouldn't wear a white shirt.
You should know for the next time.
Maybe if you had a jacket.
But you can't wear just white.
It gives a reflection.
Try this...
Prof. Eliezer Shkolnik, the renown student
of the greatest Talmud scholar,
Prof. Yonah Naftali Feinstein,
has studied the text of the
Jerusalem Talmud for many years,
as well as the various manuscripts
and has arrived to various conclusions...
"Surprising conclusions".
Fix it.
And arrived to various
surprising conclusions.
We'll talk to him about research methods...
Blah, blah, blah...
And about the monumental work
to which he dedicated his life:
a scientific version of the
Jerusalem Talmud... - Sorry...
And whether it is at all possible to
arrive to a scientific text... - Excuse me...
We don't need that. And about his
relationship with his son... - Excuse me!
Prof. Uriel... Yes, sorry.
- Introduction to the scientific publication,
not a scientific publication.
- Did you hear him, Yoav?
Add "introduction".
Say something.
What should I say?
- Count to ten.
Take it off...
To which he dedicated his life.
One,
two...
three...
Go on.
- Four. - Louder. - Four.
Louder, please.
- Four.
We can't hear him.
- Five.
Tell him to sit up straight. He looks
like an old man. - Sit up.
Sit up straight.
Prof. Shkolnik!
Where are you going? Wait...
Prof. Shkolnik...
"Fortresses"
"The jury's reasons"
"The fortress of Prof. ..."
"The fortress of Prof. Shkolnik"
"Fortress (n.): stronghold, a strong and fortified building
constructed for protection... "
"Shelter:"
"Protecting"
"Uriel Shkolnik,
Of Identity and Memory"
"The fortress of Prof. Urbach..."
"The fortress of Prof. ..."
"Shmuel's court in Naharda?
By Uriel Shkolnik"
"The fortress of..."
Thank you, father,
for this insight,
for being a role model,
for the way of life you instilled in our house,
for the cultural fortress you built around us.
- "Cultural fortress"
"Prof. Yehuda Grossman, Chairman"
But my father insisted
and made me to write "teacher"
He also demanded to see the form,
as one would expect from a manuscripts expert.
To make sure I did not make a mistake,
or left a blank space to add something
after he went away.
"Search: Yehuda Grossman + Fortress"
"No results were found"
Prof. Shkolnik?
You'll probably want to tell your family.
An official letter was sent today,
and will probably arrive tomorrow.
The person in charge of the prize
will contact you, and will assist you.
And we'll meet on the 19th, in
a conference, before the ceremony.
"Conferences"
"19.3.2010, Prof. Uriel Shkolnik ..."
- And once again, congratulations from all of us.
Thank you very much.
Hello. Prof. Shkolnik? - Hello.
I assume you know
why I'm calling. - No.
I'm very glad to tell you
that it was decided
to give you the Israel Prize
this year. Congratulations!
Prof. Shkolnik? - Yes.
I'm very glad that you receive
this prize during my term.
You don't get many opportunities
to publicly thank people like yourself.
I'm very excited for you and
am proud of your achievements.
Your research and
your educational activity...
If we really have to define our profession,
accurately describe the nature
of what we do,
the "essence" of this vast entity...
- Chaffed wheat -
that takes over our professional lives...
- An important breakthrough -
and our personal lives...
We are teachers.
I am not a teacher!
I'm a philologist!
I'm a phi-lo-lo-gist!
"Laid a fortress in front of him: (idiom.)
Set him up"
"to entrap me..."
"...hunted animals...
And this is how the State
thanks you.
"... a trap ..."
Hello, Prof. Shkolnik,
you're requested to come
to the general rehearsal, please.
Each year there's at least one
winner of the Israel Prize
who gets confused on this stage.
It looks simple, but it's not.
That's why I'm doing a rehearsal
with each one of you.
Listen carefully, and despite your excitement,
it's very important to notice the details.
We don't want to see you fall down
or stumble on a cable.
It has happened before.
I'll explain it, and eventually,
you'll know what to do.
Prof. Shkolnik, let's try
to do a rehearsal.
Prof. Shkolnik!
You're the winner
of the Talmud prize.
Stand up, please.
Stand up...
Your name will be called.
On your feet, yes.
You stand up like this, until the judges
finish reading their reasonings.
Start walking to the left.
Left, left. OK.
You go left, in that direction.
Do you see it?
Do you see the President?
Hold my hand.
We're going toward the President.
We arrive to him.
You shake his hand.
The other hand.
Shake his hand...
- The President of the State of Israel -
Use your right hand. Shake...
Shake his hand.
Good, you did it.
- The Prime-Minister -
We go to the Prime-Minister.
You receive a diploma from him.
Receive the diploma from the
Prime-Minister. Good, you got it.
Give it to the stewardess,
on your right. Give it to her. Good.
Now shake the Prime-Minister's hand...
Shake his hand, and we go to shake
the Chairman of the Knesset's hand.
The chairman of the Knesset.
Shake his hand, please...
Shake, shake...
Shake his hand...
Good evening and a happy holiday
to the viewers at home, and to the audience,
here at the International Congress
Centre in Jerusalem
which is celebrating its 60th year.
Welcome to the Israel Prize
Ceremony of this year.
Good evening to
Danni Kushmaro.
And good evening to you too,
Mirav Miller,
and good evening to the winners
of the Israel Prize.
Like every year we gather in our capital city,
Jerusalem, on Independence Day
to hand out the Israel Prize awards.
Ladies and gentleman,
the national anthem, "HaTikva".
for KG