My Father My Lord

Rabbi Avraham and his wife Esther have one son, Menachem, whose birth they regard as miraculous. Menachem's curiosity about the world is repeatedly stymied by his father, who in one instance forces him to rip up an "idolatrous" picture. Foreshadowed by an instance of Shiluach haken, a trip to the Dead Sea — the eponymous "summer vacation" — ends with Menachem drowning and his parents mourning.

Summer Vacation is the debut film by David Volach, a self-taught filmmaker who did not receive formal training in cinema, and it garnered rave reviews. Uri Klein wrote in Haaretz: "My immediate reaction to Summer Vacation is surprise and excitement, even shock. This is a complete and mature work by a true artist who seems to have emerged in Israeli cinema from nowhere."{{Cite journal |last1=Davidson |first1=Israel |last2=Zulay |first2=Menahem |last3=זולאי‬ |first3=‮מנחם |last4=Edelmann |first4=Rafael |last5=הברמן‬ |first5=‮אברהם מאיר |last6=Zulay |first6=Menahkem |last7=Haberman |first7=Avraham Meir |date=April 1934 |title=Recent Studies in Mediaeval Hebrew Poetry |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1451854 |journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=24 |issue=4 |pages=349 |doi=10.2307/1451854 |jstor=1451854 |issn=0021-6682|url-access=subscription }} Meir Schnitzer wrote in Maariv that it is "a great cinematic creation... an artistic miracle." Shmulik Duvdevani on Ynet remarked, "Rarely does a film come out of nowhere, without prior warning, leaving you astonished and awestruck."{{Cite news |last=דובדבני |first=שמוליק |date=2007-08-23 |title=בראבו! |url=https://www.ynet.co.il/entertainment/article/3441022 |access-date=2024-12-03 |work=Ynet |language=he}}

The film received four Ophir Award nominations at the 2007 Ophir Awards ceremony, including Best Feature Film for Eyal Shiray, Best Leading Actor for Assi Dayan, Best Original Screenplay for David Volach, and Best Cinematography for Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov.

In addition to these nominations, the film won several prestigious awards. David Volach was awarded Best Director and Boaz Yehonatan Yaakov received Best Cinematography at the Ophir Awards. Volach also won the Best Director award at the Taormina Film Festival. At the Haifa International Film Festival, the film earned accolades for Best Direction (Volach) and Best Cinematography (Yaakov). Lastly, it secured the award for Best Feature Film at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In February 2008, a DVD version of the film was released, featuring a 25-minute conversation between Volach and the film's producer, Eyal Shiray, discussing the film's themes, its biographical connections to Volach, and its unique cinematic style.

• Assi Dayan – Rabbi Abraham Eidelmann
• Ilan Griff - Menahem Eidelmann
• Sharon HaCohen - Esther Eidelmann{{Citation |title=My Father My Lord (2007) - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1002765/fullcredits |access-date=2023-08-30 |language=en}}

Places that appear in the movie :

File:Etz Chaim Talmud Torah, Jerusalem.JPG|The school of Menachem

File:Jerusalem Stairs street.jpg|Stairs street

File:Jerusalem Mea Shearim Kikar HaShabbat Greentec.jpg|Shabbat Square

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|1002765|My Father My Lord}}
• [https://movies.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/movies/16fath.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/J/Jews%20and%20Judaism New York Times review of My Father My Lord]

{{Films about Orthodox and Hasidic Jews}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2007 films

Category:2007 drama films

Category:2000s Hebrew-language films

Category:Israeli drama films

Category:Films about Orthodox and Hasidic Jews

Category:Hebrew-language drama films

{{Israel-film-stub}}