Thirteen year old Aharon Ninio, the only child of parents who are unable to conceive again, is determined to win the honor of carrying the Torah scrolls on Simhat Torah. The belief that he who carries the Torah may ask God for anything on behalf of others can elevate Aharon’s status in the neighborhood and win his distant father’s approval and love. But after Aharon wins the honor, his achievement brings ancient tensions to the surface: his father Bezalel is sure that it’s a sign from God and now his wish to have another child will come true; whereas his mother Rosa, having endured six miscarriages, is unwilling to mourn another loss. Aharon is torn between his parents’ conflicting wishes, when in fact all he wants for himself is to be loved by Aliza, the most popular girl in the neighborhood. His tension becomes unbearable and on the night of the honorary round, the Torah slips from his hands and shatters on the ground. Aharon’s public disgrace is an unbearable insult to his father, who refuses to forgive Aharon despite pleas from Rosa and the Rabbi, and leaves home. Aharon begins fasting to atone for the dropping of the Torah, but upon his father’s abandonment, his fast grows longer and more dangerous, as he refuses to stop even at the price of endangering his life.
