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| And Thou Shalt Love | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Chaim Elbaum |
| Written by | Chaim Elbaum |
| Produced by | Pazit Lichtman |
| Starring | Uri Lachmi Omer Zonenshein |
| Music by | Ophir Leibovitch |
Release date |
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Running time | 29 minutes |
| Country | Israel |
| Language | Hebrew |
And Thou Shalt Love (Hebrew: ואהבת, translit. V'ahavta) is an Israeli short film. It was directed by Chaim Elbaum as part of his studies at the Ma'aleh religious film school. The film tells the story of a Hesder yeshiva student dealing with being gay, based on Elbaum's own experiences.
The hero is torn between his love for his God and his desire to be a full partner in Torah and Yeshiva life, and his sexual orientation. The recognition of his attraction to men creates a difficult conflict for the hero, both with his faith and his identity. The film touches on the loaded subject carefully and does not suggest any solution to the dilemma facing the protagonist.
Along with other developments of the time, such as the establishment of organizations such as Bat Kol, Havruta and Hod, statements by rabbis such as Yuval Cherlow who deviated from the traditional position on the subject, and documentaries "Trembling Before G-d" and "Keep Not Silent", the film led to the opening of an open internal discussion within Religious Zionism on the status of gays and lesbians in the religious society, and the beginning of a change in relation to them.
It won the best drama award at the 2008 Jerusalem Film Festival.