Lena, I was thinking
about the film's title in English.

 

I have two options. One is: "The
Cemetery Club" in English. -What?

 

"The Cemetery Club".
-It's not a Cemetery Club.

 

I already explained it to you.
It's not a Cemetery Club.

 

It's another part
of the cemetery.

 

It's a recreation area.
It's not a Cemetery Club.

 

It's not a good name?
-No. It's not a Cemetery Club!

 

Isn't it...?
-It's not in the cemetery.

 

There are two different parts
to Mount Herzl.

 

One is for the cemetery

 

and the other is for recreation.

 

It's not a club in the cemetery,

 

I don't know
why you think like that.

 

It's not in the cemetery? -lt has
nothing to do with the cemetery.

 

It's a separate part
with a passage to the cemetery.

 

"Cemetery" is not
such a terrible word.

 

It's not a Cemetery Club,
I'm telling you!

 

It has a completely
different meaning.

 

Mount Herzl.
It is the Academy of Mount Herzl.

 

That's all.
I'll show you what it says.

 

For my 75th birthday
they wrote something...

 

I'll show it to you.

 

We certainly don't meet
in the cemetery!

 

No cemetery!

 

Oh! Here it is.

 

I can't see it.

 

It says: "On the 20th anniversary
of the founding of the Academy

 

"of Mount Herzl
in Jerusalem,

 

"all the members of the institute

 

"hereby honor Attorney
Lena Berr-Brecher,

 

"and bestow upon her
the title of 'Woman of Valor."'

 

If they decided to call it that,

 

so why do you have to say
a cemetery?

 

Extraordinary.

 

It's so nice here.
Look how beautiful it is here.

 

I see they planted
a lot of new cacti here.

 

They weren't here before.
They've grown in number!

 

"The regulations for the
Academy of Mount Herzl.

 

"One, the group will meet
on summer days, every Saturday.

 

"The location of the meeting,
Mount Herzl.

 

"Two, each member will bring
a folding chair.

 

"Three, the group
will have a chairman

 

"democratically elected.

 

"His job is to bring up
subjects for discussion,

 

"such as: current events,
science lectures,

 

"literature, and more.

 

"Five, the purpose
of these meetings:

 

"diminishing loneliness in old age,
bringing people together

 

"and mutual aid".

 

I don't like: "diminishing
loneliness in old age".

 

"Bringing people together
and mutual aid" is good.

 

But without the "loneliness" part.
-Don't we feel lonely?

 

The real purpose
is to make people feel closer,

 

to be together in good company.
Positive rather than negative.

 

"The meetings
will take place regularly

 

"even if the number
of members changes".

 

I think the addition
is absolutely unnecessary.

 

Simply: "The meetings
will take place regularly

 

"even if the number
of members changes." Period.

 

But now the group
consists of 20 people.

 

We have to put that in.

 

Stop, stop.
Herman, stop.

 

Herman,
you've made your point.

 

Okay, regulation number four...

 

"The chairman's responsibility
is to make sure

 

"that the discussions are
held in an orderly fashion."

 

We don't need that!
-Wait a minute. Wait!

 

It is the chairman's right,

 

and we've seen it on TV
and radio around the world...

 

We also have to write...

 

Herman, stop it!

 

On the existence of man.
-Would you stop already?!

 

Ben Gurion was right.

 

The lsraeli parliament has been
right for the past 52 years.

 

The constitution restricts people
and turns you into a tree!

 

I'm against it. The whole
British nation is against it

 

and that's why in the near future

 

the Americans
will nullify the constitution.

 

Who is for the regulations,
including the corrections?

 

Food. Let's have the food...

 

Minya prepared eggs
in tartar sauce

 

and Marisha brought tuna salad.

 

That's the first course.
It comes with matzo pancakes.

 

Later, we'll have
the main course, meat balls,

 

and finally,
there will be seasonal fruits.

 

Everything you said,
I'm not allowed to eat.

 

Aside from that, I wanted
to ask you, seriously,

 

what else are your plans for me?

 

T ell me your plans for me.

 

I'm not kidding,
I'm dead serious!

 

Okay, we're back where...
-I want to know.

 

Don't I deserve to know?
-Sure you do.

 

So what else do you want
to do with me?

 

Conversations...
-About what?

 

About... all sorts of things,
about love.

 

I have nothing to say about love.
Nothing at all.

 

Nothing.

 

I married lsrael because
I knew that...

 

this was a relationship

 

with a man I could trust.

 

I didn't know what love is.

 

You know,
love at first sight or something...

 

I didn't have a choice.

 

For six years I wasn't living,
not like other people... youth.

 

People in the ghetto also
got married and fell in love.

 

I didn't know nothing
about those things.

 

I wasn't the most
developed young girl.

 

But when I met lsrael, the first
person I knew since childhood,

 

it was the most wonderful thing
that had ever happened to me.

 

The most wonderful thing
that had ever happened to me.

 

And his sister, your Grandma,

 

for me she was the most important
thing. She was my family.

 

I had no one except for them.
No one!

 

Suddenly, I find a family

 

and that was the greatest thing
that had ever happened to me.

 

Grandma, how do you feel?

 

I feel fine.

 

Could be better, but first of all,
I've been on a diet

 

for the past three weeks.

 

I haven't touched a thing.
Nothing.

 

In two weeks I lost eight pounds.
I don't mind that,

 

I just hope it's not serious,

 

Iike a little cancer on the way.

 

You're laughing?
-Yes. Why would you have cancer?

 

Why? I don't know.
Look, I didn't eat.

 

Whatever I ate I either
threw up or had heartburn.

 

All up through here.

 

Grandma, you're a healthy
person. -I know.

 

These are all my x-rays.

 

I can see already.

 

Where?

 

This white spot. Look here.

 

Look, look. See this here?

 

That's a scar and that's a new
scar that wasn't there before.

 

It looks like it's on the paper.

 

I found it, I found it.

 

Mueller loved all classes.

 

Political opinions he had none.

 

The thing that was
important to him was one:

 

to gather
all the Muellers around.

 

Maybe you'll read it
on Mount Herzl on Saturday?

 

It would be very nice.

 

It would be a wonderful subject.

 

"The Unity of the Nation".

 

I don't think so.

 

It would be a wonderful subject.

 

And I found a wonderful poem
by Schiller about happiness.

 

You know what? Decide if you
want to read it. -I don't know...

 

Everyone on Mount Herzl
understands Kastner's German.

 

No. There are some
who wouldn't want to hear it.

 

No, no. Of course everyone
would want to listen to this poem.

 

There are people
who understand the language

 

but they don't want
to hear German. -No...

 

There's nobody like that there.
All those who come to Mount Herzl

 

understand German
and speak German.

 

Nobody will be upset.

 

Right.

 

"ln the war..."

 

"1948..."
"19 years old..."

 

Look over here. -"Was killed in a
battle in Jerusalem. 50 years old..."

 

"20 years old... 1948".

 

Which way do we go?
From here. Come.

 

I must tell you, It isn't easy with
Herman, to do what I want, Minya.

 

I don't understand.
-Minya, Minya, you can't imagine.

 

He is such a typical Yekke!
(German Jew).

 

Such a Yekke!
-Sorry to interrupt you...

 

Minya, I'm not as smart
as you and lsrael, your brother.

 

I'm not a diplomat.

 

I want to tell you that when I feel
a little anxious

 

I take a tranquilizer and relax.

 

And only then
I can convince him.

 

He didn't want to come today.
He wanted to come at 1 1 :00.

 

I really had to persuade him

 

that he can do on Mount Herzl
what he does at home.

 

For this nonsense I have to use
all my diplomatic skills.

 

I have to get up,
the sun is on me.

 

Sit here, sit here.
There's no sunshine here.

 

Sit here.
-Why don't you sit here then?

 

Minya, I don't mind the sun.

 

It's great here. You see?
There's no sunshine here.

 

Just don't sit on the glasses.

 

So do you understand what kind
of nonsense I'm talking about?

 

I have to know beforehand what
they'll say at the meeting.

 

And I explain it to him:

 

"Herman, you heard it just like me,
so how can I know more than you? "

 

Listen, such nonsense...

 

but I could lose my mind
trying to get through to him.

 

Halt now, my friend.
Haste not.

 

Here, neither with elbows
nor with jest

 

there is order in the path
for the members of the horde.

 

He who enters first
shall first depart.

 

What's the meaning
of "members of the horde"?

 

This expression comes from...
-Angels.

 

It means sheep.

 

Even going to heaven
should be done with order.

 

One after the other. "He who
enters first shall first depart."

 

I have a suggestion.

 

Herman has a poem
in German called "Einigkeit",

 

which means,
"The Unity of the Nation".

 

Avraham also has
a poem he prepared.

 

But Herman's first.
-Herman wants to start.

 

Avraham has the right of speech.

 

This is a story about me
and about my son.

 

"One evening,
I was alone in my house.

 

"l asked Naftali
to come over and visit.

 

"I'm waiting for him impatiently.

 

"There! I hear a sound
of a car door closing shut.

 

"l run to the porch and look.

 

"It's not him.

 

"l still expect him to come

 

"but it's not Naftali.
Perhaps tomorrow...

 

"Tomorrow he will come.

 

"I'm sure he will"

 

Thank you.
-Thank you. Bravo!

 

Herman, do you want to read?

 

Yes, I would like to read,

 

but I say, with reservation,
it's in German. May l?

 

Yes.
-Okay.

 

Elhanan, this poem is for you.

 

Mueller loved all classes.

 

Political opinions he had none.

 

The thing that was
important to him was one:

 

to gather
all the Muellers around...

 

Honored guests, the funeral
procession is going to section 42.

 

Friends and relatives
are invited to carry the dead.

 

"Elhanan Schlesinger"

 

Okay, people.
A week ago on Saturday,

 

Elhanan sat here next to me

 

and told me one last sentence:

 

"Why is it
that I agree with your opinions

 

"but you don't agree with mine? "

 

We knew Elhanan for many years.

 

He was together
with Esther's brother

 

in a German prison
for 4 straight years.

 

At the funeral,

 

Elhanan's son
came up to her and said

 

that Elhanan told him
that the 8 years

 

that he had been coming
to our club kept him alive.

 

I wanted to tell you
what we've been going through.

 

Suddenly he disappeared.

 

They told me in the morning
or in the afternoon

 

that yesterday Elhanan
went to sleep and didn't wake up.

 

We didn't have time
to prepare ourselves for this.

 

He wasn't sick.
He didn't complain.

 

He was one of us.

 

A shock. It was a shock,
and I still haven't gotten over it.

 

I keep looking for him
all the time.

 

I don't know if I'm allowed...

 

Let us rise in memory of Elhanan.

 

Beethoven.

 

One second...

 

I need a chair.

 

It's not here...

 

Maybe...

 

No...

 

It's another book.

 

This one.
I found it!

 

I know where it is.

 

It's called...

 

After your Grandpa died,
Grandma said that she was in love.

 

She said it to me.

 

And that's why she suffered so.
Because until the end

 

she was still very much in love
with Grandpa.

 

That's a wonderful thing, right?
-Yes. Did it surprise you?

 

No, I knew that she was
a faithful wife. I was, too.

 

But there's a difference between
being faithful and being in love.

 

And for Grandma,
he was the only love of her life.

 

Until the end. The very end.

 

Was lsrael the love of your life?
Could you say that?

 

You could say that,
but it's not the same thing

 

because I didn't know
what a great love was.

 

Grandma did.
She is more feminine.

 

She is more...

 

She is very special.

 

She is different.

 

Look. Ludwig Van Beethoven
writes to the "lmmortal Beloved".

 

Immortal Beloved.

 

And look what he wrote her:

 

"Ever thine, ever mine,
ever for each other."

 

That was a very special kind of love.

 

But you must have a unique character

 

to be in love like that
till the end.

 

Not everyone
is capable of such things.

 

I dream about him every night.

 

Every single night.

 

Sometimes I see him
sitting here.

 

I come here to look at the clouds
and I see all kinds of shapes.

 

I imagine that it's Grandpa.

 

I see the arms, the face,
everything.

 

"Attorney-at-law
lsrael Berr"

 

You didn't know how many years
your brother lsrael was sick.

 

I knew that he was sick.

 

Minya, when you had to visit
your son in America

 

and lsrael just had his operation,
we were afraid that you wouldn't go.

 

We brought him home.
He looked just like a corpse!

 

And you didn't know about
the operation. We kept it from you.

 

I knew my brother was sick.
-You didn't know!

 

Of course I knew! I kept my feelings
to myself all the time.

 

I knew from day one.

 

I would go outside...
Even my children didn't know.

 

Minya, it was fantastic,
the way he died.

 

When Nurit and I bathed lsrael

 

and then gave him an enema. I put
a big plastic sheet on the bed.

 

We gave him an enema
and everything came out of him.

 

We washed him
and put him into pajamas.

 

His last words were:
"Now I want to dance."

 

With that he went to sleep.

 

Do you remember when l...?
-Minya...

 

Do you remember when I came over
with fish in the morning?

 

The night before, he said
he'd like to eat stuffed fish.

 

I went home, cooked the fish
and took it over in the morning.

 

When? -When he died and
I didn't know. Don't you remember?

 

So many tubes were in him...

 

Dr. Kramer put tubes in his lungs,
and pumped everything out.

 

Pumped it out of him.

 

They did the same to Gedalia,
three times. -Minya, Minya!

 

Three times they did it to him
and he spit blood and...

 

and they pumped his lungs
until he stopped.

 

"Herzl's tomb"

 

Before we talk about
the philosophy of Kant,

 

I shall say a few words
about his character.

 

Kant was a German philosopher,

 

one of the greatest
philosophers of our time.

 

He had the most significant
influence on modern philosophy.

 

He was born
in Konigsberg in 1734.

 

He died in 1 804, which means
he was 80 years old when he died.

 

His father was Scottish.
He was a saddle maker.

 

Kant's ethics
were adopted by Western Europe,

 

America and Australia.
To this day, it's the foundation

 

of the ethics and the morality
of every modern society.

 

What is conscience?
It's difficult to define.

 

He said that in a human being
there is a categorical imperative,

 

a working conscience.

 

It's true, there are people who
have a more sensitive conscience.

 

There are those who have
no conscience at all

 

and they do things
that are against humanity.

 

Hitler took that idea

 

and influenced
the entire German nation

 

and 20 other nations worldwide,
that didn't have a conscience.

 

It was the exact opposite. It was
okay to murder without punishment.

 

Nobody could shut him up,
the mass murderer named Hitler.

 

Kant's philosophy
lead us straight to Hitler.

 

Hitler said that good
is only what's good for Germany.

 

I wanted to say something.
-Justice is power.

 

So can I compare him to Kant?
Hitler against Kant?

 

There's a term
in English called "a white lie."

 

A white lie. A white lie.
-What is the white lie?

 

Not long ago there was a story
on TV about Paul Robeson,

 

about how he sang somewhere

 

and what happened there with the KKK
or the white rightwing extremists

 

who massacred people
who came to listen to him sing.

 

But that's not what I wanted to say.
I wanted to talk about the white lie.

 

He was there many times,
in the Soviet Union.

 

He adored Soviet Russia.

 

But he also saw things
that he didn't like so much

 

and in August 1952
they executed everyone.

 

The poet ltzhak Feffer, who wrote
a poem about Stalin in Yiddish...

 

What's that got to do with Kant?!
-Wait! I haven't finished yet.

 

I'm talking
about the white lie now!

 

These were poets and writers

 

who praised
the communist regime

 

and were loyal to it.

 

And they did so much
for that regime,

 

that not many others did.

 

That's not only a white lie,
but a terrible and cruel lie.

 

Okay...
-Wait one more minute.

 

Even in lndia
and in all the colonies,

 

the French, the Belgians,

 

whatever they did at home, they did
the opposite in the colonies.

 

They behaved like masters to slaves

 

and they exploited them
completely, with great cruelty.

 

Even George lll from Britain was
against giving freedom to America

 

and they did what they did and...

 

I'm done.

 

The people you talk about didn't
follow those universal laws.

 

Moses took a nation of slaves,
a whole nation,

 

and brought them to freedom.

 

I want to...
-Wait, I'm talking now, Lena.

 

Moses, good for him. The ten
commandments that he wrote...

 

Wait, wait! -For me, it's not
the Greeks nor the Romans,

 

only one culture influenced
the world - the Jewish culture!

 

With gentiles, the most important
entertainment ever

 

is spilling blood.
They love cruelty. They're animals!

 

The only ones who behaved
like humans were the Jews.

 

We are murderers. Our soldiers
are no better than the Cossacks.

 

For 34 years we have occupied
territories of a whole nation,

 

and we don't give them
the freedom and independence

 

that we ourselves demanded. But
the majority doesn't agree with me.

 

Not true. You didn't hear well.
-No, it's simply not true.

 

You didn't hear well.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we would
like to eat. Bon appetit.

 

Bon appetit.
Bon appetit.

 

Next week...

 

Next week I will bring a story
by Somerset Mougham

 

about a marriage of convenience
and not of love.

 

I'll read you the synopsis.
-All right.

 

"Minya is my grandmother and Lena,
her sister-in-law, is my aunt.

 

"They were best friends who grew up
in the same neighborhood in Poland.

 

"They split apart in the ghetto,
met up by chance after the war,

 

"and became family.

 

"Lena married
Minya's brother, lsrael."

 

I didn't know you were making
a film about me and your Grandma.

 

It says here, look.

 

I didn't know we would be
the main actresses in this film.

 

I didn't know.

 

I never imagined that.

 

Tali, I can't be featured
as the most knowledgeable

 

or the main person
who was active there.

 

But I didn't say that you are
the head of the group there

 

or the most knowledgeable.
-Yes, read the synopsis.

 

I wrote: "One of the parliament's
founders." -No, no, no. -Yes.

 

No, read it. Read it.
It's not like that.

 

Look at this.
-I can't read. I need my glasses.

 

"Lena is one of the foundations
of the parliament."

 

Go on. -"There's no subject or date
she doesn't know and remember."

 

Okay, it's a bit exaggerated.

 

"There's no book she hasn't
read." That's writing.

 

It's all exaggeration.
That's the problem.

 

"There's no argument she doesn't
have a formulated opinion about."

 

No, of course not.

 

Everything written here
is an exaggeration.

 

What would you write instead?
-It's all exaggerated.

 

I can't agree with that.
Concerning Grandma and her story...

 

Okay, about... -Wait.
About Grandma's story and mine,

 

about our life,
that's a different story, yes.

 

We are
the principal characters there,

 

but not in Mount Herzl.
-Not in Mount Herzl.

 

Do we agree? Okay?
Not in Mount Herzl.

 

But you can also talk
about my role in Mount Herzl.

 

On that we agree.

 

Okay? Forget about that.

 

All right?

 

I will see the synopsis
afterwards, T ali. I have to.

 

Welcome.

 

Here is the key to the room.

 

Which passport? No need for
a passport. -No need for a passport?

 

Nothing, nothing.

 

That's it, we're done.

 

Excuse me.

 

Give me another form
for the lady.

 

If you're both staying
in the same room there's no need.

 

The fifth floor.
But which room?

 

Room number 509.

 

How nice. Very nice.

 

It's something special.
Wonderful!

 

What a beautiful place. -lt looks out
onto the road, I knew it.

 

How beautiful. What luxury.

 

I wanted to be on the other side.
-What difference does it make?

 

There's coffee
and tea. Wonderful!

 

There's even...
How nice, really...

 

I'm coughing already.
-Really nice.

 

You see?
Why am I coughing already?

 

I never saw a...

 

A clock.
-A clock. Very nice.

 

Very unique and modern.

 

It couldn't be
more modern than this.

 

Where is the TV?
-Here, in front of you.

 

How nice.
It's a TV with lots of inches.

 

I can't fall asleep
without the TV on. -No kidding?

 

How wonderful.

 

When I married
your brother lsrael, I told him:

 

"You should know
that I scream at night."

 

I have nightmares
that they're chasing me,

 

chasing, chasing, chasing...

 

and then they catch me and I start
screaming and then I wake up.

 

After I arrived in lsrael,
I worked in Yad Vashem.

 

So the nightmares I had over there
became even stronger

 

because of the survivors'
testimonies that I read.

 

So then I didn't just scream
at night, but during the day, too...

 

-Also, when someone touched you,
you screamed,

 

so I was afraid to sleep at your
place, because I wake up easily.

 

T en years ago I went to a doctor.

 

She asked me if I was nervous.

 

I immediately said, no.
I'm not nervous, I'm traumatized.

 

I thought I was fat, but I see
there are fatter people.

 

You're not fat.
You've got good legs.

 

Once, my legs weren't bad at all.

 

You had beautiful legs,
you still do. -But now I have spots.

 

And this old man needs all this sun?

 

That's all he needs.

 

There wasn't anyone left,
only me and my mother.

 

There wasn't anyone left.
Everyone was gone.

 

He released me from that
roundup and sent me home

 

because he knew me.

 

He said: "Go home." I didn't know
he was a Jewish policeman.

 

Ah, there was an officer
walking around.

 

I'm talking about a Jewish
police officer, Minya!

 

Don't you understand
what I'm talking about?

 

Don't yell at me.

 

Why don't you understand
what I'm talking about?

 

I do understand.
-So why did you interrupt me?

 

I knew him, what did I say wrong?

 

What's that got to do with my story?

 

I'm only telling you that I knew
a police officer before the war.

 

Why do you get so upset?

 

Can't you relax?

 

No, because it has nothing
to do with what I said.

 

But you finished telling
the story, didn't you?

 

No, I didn't finish.

 

You and I have different
fields of knowledge.

 

You know about
chickens and dogs,

 

horses and cows,

 

flowers, craft and cooking.

 

I have no idea
about those things.

 

I'm like a little girl
compared to you.

 

But there are things
that you never studied!

 

Not history,
not literature, not law.

 

What can I do? I'm ignorant.
-You're not ignorant,

 

but you never studied.
Why do you say ignorant?

 

Did you study Jewish history
after the war? Did you study law?

 

Did you study law in lsrael?
Did you go to librarian school?

 

You never studied!
Is that ignorance?

 

Do you think you're inferior to me?
You're better than me.

 

I didn't say that.
-I'm telling you, you are.

 

I know that you are respected
and loved, so stop.

 

Stop saying that
you know it too.

 

Why now
when I'm telling a story?

 

Let me tell it and don't
interrupt me all the time.

 

You want to show
that you also know.

 

You can't know it, that's all.

 

What can I do? I didn't know that
I had such a smart sister-in-law.

 

You're so intelligent,
I can't open my mouth.

 

Go to hell! What's that got to do
with intelligence? -Don't shout.

 

Don't tell me "go to hell"!
-I'm talking to you!

 

Why do you think I said
that you're not smart and I am?

 

I studied, Minya!
-I'm not going to talk anymore.

 

If you don't have anything
to say, don't talk.

 

That's all.

 

You look good!
-Thank you, thank you.

 

Maybe I'll take you with me?
-Yes, yes.

 

This is wonderful!
-Be careful.

 

You came to me like an angel.

 

Be careful,
don't let it touch your face.

 

Don't let it get near the eyes.

 

"Herzl's tomb"

 

Never mind. I'll take it,
but I don't need it.

 

I'm not hungry
and I don't need it.

 

Who's sitting here?
-Minya.

 

Minya?

 

She's supposed to sit here.
-She can sit over there.

 

Who said so? She has no right
to control us now.

 

She wants to sit
next to my sister-in-law?

 

Get up, lady. Get up! -But they told
me to sit here. -I heard.

 

Get up quickly.
You have no choice.

 

You know what?
That "director" told her to sit here.

 

You understand? You understand?
She ordered her to sit here.

 

She told me.

 

We're starting!
Quiet.

 

As we all know, in June 1 941 the
Germans invaded the Soviet Union.

 

The Red Army was ready...

 

You understand? She wants
to take control and separate us.

 

Do you see her plans?

 

You know, I was sitting there
and now my ear aches!

 

When the Germans started the war

 

they thought about actions
coming from the home front...

 

We passed Babi-Yar,
where they killed Polish soldiers.

 

No, it happened in Katin.

 

In Babi-Yar they killed only Jews.
-Officers, too.

 

Minya, in Katin they killed
15,000 Polish officers.

 

Only in Katin! There's a list.

 

Political and cultural activities...
I don't want to go into details.

 

But in 1942
the extermination began...

 

There are so many people here today.

 

Listen, it's such a wonderful place.

 

Extraordinary, it's so nice here.

 

It's beautiful!

 

I haven't been
to the bathrooms here in a long time.

 

Now it's possible. When it's hot
I go to pee under the trees.

 

I can't.
-I can do it anywhere, Minya.

 

I can do it anywhere!

 

And if somebody comes?
-Minya, then we stand watch.

 

I can do it anywhere. I should
torture myself for convenience?!

 

I don't have those inhibitions
and complexes.

 

If I had them,
I would never have survived.

 

Everyone thinks
I have a perfect memory.

 

It's not true.
-You remember dates very well.

 

I remember dates when they're
connected to very important events.

 

Very important, yes?

 

If I remember when
Columbus lived, that's obvious.

 

Everyone should know that.

 

Or when Alexander Vl
became the pope

 

it happened
at a very turbulent time in ltaly,

 

so I remember.

 

Or when Mary Antoinette
was sent to the guillotine

 

or Louis the 1 6th,
that's obvious.

 

Or when Thomas More
wrote "Utopia". It was in 1516.

 

I remember things that were
extremely important!

 

I'm talking about
personal memories.

 

About memories... -Of course.
-Of the family. -Of course.

 

I can't forget
the landmarks in my life.

 

In family related stories

 

the dates I remember are
from the ghetto.

 

When my father died of starvation,

 

when people were taken away,

 

when my brother got
tuberculosis and was sent away,

 

when the Germans said they
would give us a loaf of bread

 

and some marmalade
so we could work,

 

and he was already hungry
and had a high fever,

 

and he wanted the loaf of bread.

 

He didn't know where
they were taking him.

 

And my sister... six weeks later,
typhus broke out

 

and she got ill and died.

 

She was the strong one,
the beautiful one.

 

She had all the virtues that
I didn't have and she died

 

and it was just mother and l.

 

And then Auschwitz...
train cars were opened

 

and my mother was taken, and I asked
the Germans: "Where's my mother? "

 

And they said: "She'll come by bus
because she's too weak to walk."

 

She was sent to...

 

With everyone it's the same.
Everyone knows these things.

 

Everyone tells the same story
and the same...

 

Not the same feeling, but...

 

When they opened the train doors...

 

you saw in front of you many women
running with shaven heads,

 

and they were shouting:
"Bread! Bread!"

 

Everyone tells the same story,
the same feeling, the same sight.

 

We thought these women
were crazy.

 

We thought it was a mental hospital.

 

We didn't know everything was
taken from them.

 

Someone was beating them and
they were shouting: "Bread! Bread!"

 

Because maybe we still had
something left on the train.

 

These are things you can
never forget. Nobody forgets.

 

Were you hungry
for many years?

 

The whole time in the ghetto I was
hungry. We started to get hungry

 

maybe six months
after the war began,

 

because we didn't have any money.

 

Even when there was still
something to buy in the market,

 

we didn't have money anymore.

 

It was awful. It was terrible.

 

I have to stop.
I have a terrible pain.

 

Suddenly.
I guess it's from hunger.

 

I have to stop.

 

I had this last night too.
And now, again.

 

In your stomach?
-Here.

 

I have to stop.
Okay?

 

Okay.

 

You're not angry, are you?

 

Don't be angry with me.
I must have something to eat.

 

I need this so much.

 

You don't know how much I need
family, how much I need support,

 

someone to lean on.

 

I always say, those who are close
to me are there to support me.

 

For me, the family
is the most important thing.

 

I have to eat.
Something is wrong with me.

 

I'm never this hungry.

 

They decided that it's also good
when served cold.

 

There are plenty of napkins
on the table.

 

Wait a moment.

 

Minya brought napkins.

 

I brought some myself.
I'll bring them over.

 

Unbelievable.

 

Unbelievable.

 

You know,
I would never think

 

that in Poland there would be
a casino and that you could play

 

and that there are
machines like that.

 

Unbelievable.

 

How much is each coin?
-25.

 

Oh, yes?

 

You've had experience
from Las Vegas,

 

from Taba.

 

I won a lot in Taba.

 

I won $5,000 in Taba.

 

I said from the beginning,
from the first day,

 

if we take a trip to Poland,

 

we'll pay
for the trip with this money.

 

In this round I got a lot.

 

I can't believe it.
How are you able to win?

 

I never won a cent in my life.

 

Unbelievable.
This is unbelievable.

 

Unbelievable.

 

Grandma, where are we going?

 

Now we're going in the direction
of Venochka Square.

 

Is that your house?
-No.

 

My house is far from here.
My house doesn't exist anymore.

 

Look at the entrances to the houses,

 

to apartments...
the staircases...

 

That's so horrible.

 

Everything is so old,
so neglected.

 

Unbelievable.

 

Unbelievable.

 

Unbelievable.

 

That's my house.
Here, on the first floor.

 

That's my house.

 

How come Lena said
that our house wasn't standing?

 

How could she say
that it no longer exists?

 

Why did you tell me
that my house no longer exists?

 

Who told you that?
-You did, all the time.

 

Minya, you're imagining things.
-I swear.

 

You can swear all you want
but it's not important.

 

That's right, it's not important.
-It's really not important.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,
please stop everything and listen.

 

Time is running out.
You can do all those things later.

 

Please be quiet!

 

I loved you.

 

The love in my soul is not
completely extinguished.

 

I haven't come to worry you
or cause you embarrassment.

 

I do not wish to upset you.

 

I loved you,

 

In silence, without a chance.

 

With shyness, hesitation,

 

jealousy, yearning.

 

I loved you truly,
with all my heart,

 

with tenderness.

 

May God let you be loved this way

 

by someone else.

 

"Avraham Pishmilevsky"

 

Can you hear me?

 

Where it says "Berry and Fruit,
The House of Fruit."

 

You turn there.

 

What's the matter, Yehuda?
T ell me!

 

You're not coming?

 

Why?

 

What? Wait. Wait.

 

Yehuda isn't coming.

 

It's great that you came at least.
Yehuda isn't coming.

 

Minya, start serving the cholent.
-I don't know how much.

 

As much as you want, just ask.
Start serving it!

 

Where are the plates? -There are
some disposable plates on the table.

 

Bring the other pot too.

 

Now, one minute.

 

I wanted to tell you
that it's self-service

 

and you have to come up...

 

I ask those who can get up,
please, go take food.

 

It's self-service, Herman.
Self-service.

 

But it's not only this...
-So bring it to the table.

 

No, each person has to take
for himself. -No, lt'll be a mess.

 

I ask you to come
and take cholent.

 

We can't...
-Yes, you can.

 

Don't be stubborn.
It's impossible for them to get up.

 

There are reasonable people
and unreasonable people

 

and I do a lot of things
that a reasonable person wouldn't do.

 

And that's it. Not always.

 

When I ran my law office
for ten years at home

 

then I was a reasonable person.
Everyone said I ran it well.

 

And in your private life?
Were you reasonable?

 

No, certainly not.
Just because of the fact

 

that I sent my four year-old
daughter to an orphanage

 

when I wanted to study.

 

And when we came to lsrael
I split up the family in one day.

 

I sent one child who was three
and a half to an orphanage,

 

sent the daughter, Nurit, who was
almost ten, to another orphanage,

 

I was in a hut in Lod,
lsrael was in a school in Jerusalem.

 

I split up the whole family.

 

A reasonable person
would never have done that.

 

He'd think twice that maybe
it would harm the children.

 

Maybe it would break up the family,
what would the consequences be!

 

I did everything
so spontaneously, without thinking.

 

They suggested it to me and
I thought it was an ideal solution

 

and that it was a great thing,
that I was allowed to study.

 

I was allowed to study
and the kids went to an orphanage.

 

A reasonable person
would never have done that.

 

I thought it was the right thing
to do for the good of the family.

 

How was the orphanage?
-lt was lovely.

 

Grandma was there
and saw the place.

 

It was a wonderful place.
It was a selective orphanage.

 

Communist, selective.
It was really beautiful.

 

Do you have pictures
of the orphanage? -No.

 

I have a photo with Yoram
from that period. Very nice. -Really?

 

I'll show you.

 

Do you regret it today?
-Look, I can't undo the past.

 

I don't know what I would
have done if I hadn't done it.

 

Yoram.

 

Yoram.

 

That's Yoram, you see him?

 

Is this from that period?
-Yes, yes.

 

You see him?

 

Look at him.
Look at him, at his presence.

 

This photo is special.

 

That's you, two years old,

 

in Yoram's arms.

 

What a wonderful picture.
-I loved him very much.

 

Wonderful.
-That's a funny picture.

 

Everyone laughs at this picture.

 

He's 51 years old now.
He's already a mature man.

 

He's 51 years old.
He was born in 1953.

 

On the 13th of August he'll be 52.

 

I look at Herman's son
who was born a month after Yoram.

 

A month.

 

He's been
an engineer for 30 years now.

 

He has a wonderful family
with three children.

 

His wife is a school principal.
They both have an education.

 

They are well-established,
not only financially.

 

They have set opinions,
they know what they want.

 

But what has Yoram achieved
with all his talents?

 

They said he had a musical ear.

 

I sent him to learn French,
I sent him to learn the violin,

 

I sent him to study
whatever he wanted.

 

Everything he did, he quit,
threw it away.

 

Being a journalist suited him
really well.

 

The Jerusalem Post hired him
twice. He even got tenure!

 

After six months!

 

Tenure, from the Jerusalem Post.

 

He threw it away.

 

He threw away everything.

 

How long haven't you seen him, Lena?

 

Since 1 992. 1 3 years.

 

He left lsrael in December
for six weeks, and never came back.

 

It was when he managed the youth
hostel at 15 King George St.

 

He disappeared.
That's it.

 

13 years.

 

It's not easy.
That's it.

 

Do you miss him?
-What can I say?

 

I don't want to talk about it.

 

I don't miss him.
I worry about him.

 

You're worried?
-I don't know where he is.

 

I don't know what he's doing,
how he's supporting himself.

 

Did you ever think
about looking for him?

 

Maybe you'll stop
asking me that? Stop it.

 

I won't say another word.
We're finished.

 

Why are you angry with me
for asking that?

 

I have no reply. I won't answer
anymore questions. We're finished.

 

What upset you when I asked
about looking for Yoram?

 

I don't want to look for him.
-No? -No.

 

I don't want to know.
It's better that I don't know.

 

It's better for him too,
because if he wanted me to know,

 

he has the address.

 

Maybe he wants you to look for him?
-Maybe. I don't know what he thinks.

 

He was walking down the street in
Amsterdam and met Nisan. -When?

 

Before lsrael passed away.

 

And Nisan told him
that his father was dying.

 

That was 12 years ago. -He didn't
even call to ask about him.

 

It means he doesn't want
to be in touch.

 

So I'm not going to look for him.
He doesn't want it!

 

I gave you an example
and that's the example.

 

That means he doesn't want us
to look for him.

 

Nobody asks me about Yoram!

 

They know that it's not good for me.

 

That's all.

 

Lena, stop making
a drama out of this.

 

No, I'm getting a headache.
-So let's stop.

 

We will now sing a song
by Rachel the poetess.

 

The melody that was
sung in Rachel's time,

 

at the beginning of the last
century, in the 20's or 30's,

 

is a simple,
very sentimental tune.

 

I have not sung your praises,
my land, or glorified your name,

 

with tales ofyour heroic deeds.

 

Only a tree I have planted

 

by the quiet shores of Jordan

 

Only my feet have conquered
your paths

 

upon... your fields.

 

And in 1 936

 

a famous German Jewish composer

 

came to lsrael
and settled in Jerusalem.

 

His name was Stefan Wolpe.

 

And he composed
a different kind of music.

 

Modern, but not too modern.
It's not in the 12-tone technique.

 

I have not sung your praises,
my land

 

or glorified your name,

 

with tales ofyour heroic deeds.

 

Only a tree I have planted

 

by the quiet shores of Jordan

 

Only my feet have conquered
your paths

 

upon your fields.

 

I have not sung your praises,
my land

 

or glorified your name...

 

maybe I 'm getting emotional.

 

I was maybe 21 years old then

 

and it was a very difficult time.

 

It was the first time I had
left my parents' home.

 

I hadn't yet found a friend
or a girlfriend in lsrael.

 

Wolpe was my first friend

 

and the work I did with him

 

was sentimental work.

 

"Sinai Leichter"

 

"The renewed regulations
for the Academy of Mount Herzl.

 

"One, due to the members' age
and physical condition

 

"the location of the meetings
is being shifted from Mount Herzl

 

"to the Nofim nursing home
in Jerusalem.

 

"Two, the meetings
will be held regularly

 

"even if the number
of members changes.

 

"Three, Nofim nursing home
shall provide the group members

 

"with a room for the meetings.

 

"Therefore there's no need
to bring the folding chairs.

 

"Four, lunch will be served

 

"at one o'clock in the dining hall.

 

"Members who do not live
at the home will pay for the meal.

 

"Five, the purpose of the meetings:

 

"Diminishing loneliness in old age,

 

"bringing people together
and mutual aid."

 

You don't know anything
about Yoram?

 

I dream about Yoram
every night, all the time.

 

I dreamt that Yoram is standing
by the door,

 

pushing the intercom button

 

and I ask: "Who's speaking? "
and he answers "Yoram."

 

And I say to him:
"Answer me in your mother tongue

 

"and then I'll know that it's you

 

"and I'll let you in."

 

I think about
Yoram night and day.

 

All I want is for him to be healthy

 

and stay out of trouble.

 

What did I want to say?
She married an old man.

 

Who?

 

Aunt Marisha, and then she left him
and got married to Abaleh.

 

I remember when his wife
caught a fish, killed it,

 

cut it and put the blood in...
How do you call it?

 

The guts.
-Not the guts!

 

Maybe she made sausages. -Minya,
I'm talking about fish. -Oh, fish.

 

She put it in the sauce, the blood.

 

Many people do that.
-She did, I saw it.

 

I just hear that
and I'm disgusted.

 

I know that they did that
when we lived in Bielawa.

 

It wasn't in Bielawa.

 

But we lived in Bielawa.
-lt was another place.

 

Not Warsaw. I was in Lodz.
-He didn't live in Lodz.

 

He lived in Warsaw.

 

Hilman never lived in Lodz.
He lived in Warsaw.