i am at least half-dead. i heard them speaking of your parents. i am very sorry. tuvia shakes his head.
and the other brothers? what was his name, the wild one?
you are hiding here? in the forest? tuvia nods.
there has been trouble before maybe? with the police? tuvia doesn't answer.
so now you go to the forest. a wise choice.
my whole life i presumed to teach others the right way to live. i had no doubt: this is god's way, this isn't. you'll forgive me if recent events have somewhat shaken my resolve.
here.  you're not hungry? aron doesn't respond.
the little one does not talk?
here.  shimon takes a book from his coat, rips out pages covered in hebrew and crumples them into the fire. they burst into flame.
the psalms have many uses.
they thought you were bringing food. tuvia just stares at him.
did the farmers stop you? still no answer from tuvia.
they had guns? dogs?
i don't understand. tuvia says nothing. nearby, a child cries in hunger.
the talmud says if you save a life you must take responsibility for it.
i think you do.
no. here, we have hope. a few more join in, grumbling their dissatisfaction. others take the opposite position. these are jews, after all, and arguing is a revered sport and a pastime. it escalates.
in the west a monster with a little mustache, in the east a monster with a big mustache. this is all i need to know about politics.
no. the messiahs are all in politics, and they're killing us. zus unloads two cut and stripped trees.
my life in these woods is much easier because of mr. roosevelt, thank you.
all your secular learning, yet you know nothing of life.
and for every fact that goes in your head, another comes out your rear end. chaya and bella receive the bounty from the foragers.
yes. you annoy me therefore i exist.
by my best calculation, today is high holiday. i am fasting. malbin can't believe this. he rolls his eyes and digs in. one of the newcomers has brought a violin. he begins to play. a bittersweet melody. people stop talking and listen, eyes filling at this reminder of a sweeter, civilized time. ben zion has left the new arrivals and approached tuvia. he looks grave. tuvia immediately knows something is wrong.
i am sorry for your loss. tuvia nods. he is deep inside himself.
do you want to say the kaddish? when at last tuvia speaks, it is almost to himself.
a great rabbi once said, "wherever i go, i am always going to the land of israel."
--how about carpenters? any bootmakers? seamstresses?
ahhh. welcome. and you, tateh? oppenheim is an old man with thick glasses.
merciful god, we commit our friends ben zion and krensky to your care. we have no more prayers, no more tears. we have run out of blood. choose another people we pan past the familiar faces.
we have paid for each of your commandments. we have covered every field and stone with ashes. sanctify another land. choose another people. teach them the deeds and the prophecies. grant us but one more blessing -- take back the gift of our holiness.
drink this.
not easy being the big boss. moses was a lonely man when he led us out of bondage.
so i'm a sucker for a biblical allusion. but what is society without leaders. without leaders, we falter.
neither was moses, but somehow that seemed to work out.
i call it an inevitable conclusion based on unimpeachable reasoning.
the question, my friend the genius, is what are you going to do about it.
aha! i got him!
they've assigned an entire division to surround the forest. a tidal wave is coming.
assault begins in two days. passover. how fitting. meanwhile, some of the group have begun tormenting the man.
he says he has a wife and children. lazar picks up a stick. the german tries to crawl away; the crowd blocks his escape, pushing him back into the center.
sie mussen versprechen nicht zu sagan wo wir sind. the man looks up at him, pleadingly.
but the children of israel were afraid to leave egypt. until moses said, 'do not trust in me, trust in god.' he will take care of you' and so tomorrow we celebrate the passover by sitting around and arguing just as we have done for centuries. tuvia stares at them, a curious expression on his face. malbin comes to stand beside him.
he.  . is.  . tired. malbin hears something, looks up.
no. the physical plane is where man acts to redeem himself.
look who's talking about shutting up.  i need to tell you something.
you shouldn't think so much. the world around you is beautiful.
even this one. tuvia has come to sit beside lilka. she leans into him.
tuvia.
something. to say.
no. please.  i almost lost. my faith. but you. were sent. by god. to save us.
i know.  .  but just. in case.  .i thank. him.  .and i thank you. he closes his eyes. it's too much for tuvia. hard as he tries, he cannot stop the tears from filling his eyes.