52 On Lending Films

I have never used the services of a 'videomat'. For a short period of time I had a subscription to a video library and recently I had one to a DVD library, but I gave it up. Today I make due with films of the cable network and from time to time I order a film on VOD. There I discovered films of the 'third ear' and found two treasures: 'The Kingdom', directed by Lars von Trier and 'Heimat 1', directed by Edgar Reitz. I immediately became captivated again seeing these two masterpieces. I remember how, in the 1980's we traveled to Tel Aviv on two long weekends to see 'Heimat 1' at a cinema. Seeing the film again was not disappointing in spite of the fact that certain pictures that had, in my memory, become somewhat mythological – for instance, Paul, who upon returning from the war, enters the village – now seem less impressive. But the 'village fool' Glazisch who tells the story and looks through the pictures, remains as impressive as ever.

Seeing 'The Kingdom' again was riveting. Although the subject of hidden ghosts and the unknown is irritating at times, the series is excellent and the acting is wonderful. What madness there is in the citadel of rationality, how dark desires combine as do many beliefs and nonsense, with modern medicine at its best, often all in the same person! In short, I spent an entire month immersed in these new-old revelations.

Today I hear more and more about 'downloading' films from the internet, that is to say, copying them from the world wide net to the home computer. I haven't reached that stage as yet; I don't even copy music in this way. But perhaps I shall choose another solution and acquire a new version of a cable box, which is called 'Magic' on the cable network that I am connected to. That would enable me to record without using any additional device or discs. That way I could see films broadcast on cable channels at hours convenient for me.

When I look at the 'videomat' on the wall between two stores, I think that this is an innovation that has already outlived its time. But perhaps I am wrong.

51 Once Upon a Hanukkah

'Once upon a Hanukkah/ the children were about to fall asleep/ the classroom was empty/ only the first candle still flickered/ silence, darkness, not a person in sight.../ the pots and pans were alone'. So begins Alterman's poem 'Nes Gadol Haya Poh', which tells about the Hanukkah game the household utensils played at night, after they recovered from their fear and said to the clock that had insulted them 'Shut up, fool. You talk nonsense. You yourself are nothing but a rag'. Primus Yehudah, aided by the Sabra flower pots – that is to say the Maccabim, defeated the Greek chairs and the tea kettle elephants that night.

We heard this wonderful poem in our childhood again and again and even dramatized it and fought, dressed up as a broom, a funnel, a primus and a puppy. Of course we knew it by heart from beginning to end and many of us can even now recite large parts of it from memory. The Hanukkah songs that we sang somewhat later in a choir, in four voices, included 'Here He Comes with His Army' to music from the oratorio 'Yehuda Maccabi' by Handel and 'Maoz tzur yeshuati' – also became part of us, and to this day I can sing the base part without a mistake.

'Once upon a Hanukkah' we would recite for our pleasure even when we were already grown up and would use ironic dramatization and extreme intonation in order to disguise our nostalgia. The photo shows us as we appeared in a 1971 Hanukkah party (at the time we were soldiers on leave) reading the poem. On the right are 'the chairs' Aryeh and Yaron, after them are Nachum 'the broom', Amos 'the primus' and myself 'the tea kettle'. And then Yigal 'the clock' and Amram 'the dreidle'.