Can a person be too devoted to God? The First Commandment says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Is devotion to God to be more important than all else—other people—family—nation? When Krzysztof Kieslowski made Dekalog, a series of TV dramas on the Ten Commandments, his first installment dealt with a man who put his trust in science and because of that his son died. David Volach meant his film, My Father My Lord, to be a work in dialogue with Kieslowski’s take on the First Commandment.
Rabbi Abraham Eidelmann strictly observes the Torah. He has devoted his life to following God’s Law in all that he does. He even chases a dove away from her nest because of an obscure commandment.
His young son Menahem is curious about many things. He is attracted by all the different animals he finds. He wonders if dogs will go to heaven. (His father assures him they will not.) In his father’s study, he quickly grows bored. When Menahem brings home a postcard with an African native, his father calls it idolatry and demands that he destroy it. When Menahem asks why these things must be, his father says that they must obey the commandments without asking why.
We don’t question Abraham’s love for Menahem. He believes strongly in the promise inherent in the Torah—that those who follow the Law will have God’s favor. He trains his son to follow in this way so that he too will know what it means to be in God’s favor.
At school Menahem and his classmates are learning the story of Abraham and Isaac. God commands Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice, and Abraham plans to do so. How could a father be expected to do such a thing? Would Rabbi Abraham be willing to do what his namesake had set out to do?
The problem comes up on a trip to the Dead Sea. Menahem loves floating in the water that is almost too salty to sink in. It is a pleasant day. Their mother is in the section with the women. This is the first time that Menahem has been old enough to go to the men’s section. When the time comes, all the men get out of the water for the daily prayers. Menahem gets distracted and wanders away. His father is so caught up in prayer and devotion that he never notices.
The story of Abraham and Isaac is one of the hardest stories for me to understand. There are those who approach the story with the idea that Abraham was mistaken. Others say God was testing Abraham. I wonder if the test was passed by Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son or if he failed. How can a father bear to let even God become more important than a child entrusted to him?
In the aftermath of that trip to the Dead Sea, Rabbi Abraham must begin to wonder if his basic premise is correct. Has he found God’s favor in the obeying the Torah? How then can such a tragedy come to him? Can he even still pray to God when he is in such grief? Does he even want to?
While both films are well worth watching, I think Volach’s idea of a dialogue between the films is a very good way to view them. The two different perspectives will give any viewer much to consider.
