And Thou Shalt Love (2007) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The film takes place in contemporary Israel, primarily within a Hesder yeshiva and the surrounding military environment. This setting depicts the unique intersection of religious study and mandatory military service that defines Hesder communities.

• hesder yeshiva
• israel
• setting
• religious military

A Hesder yeshiva is a religious study institution in Israel that combines advanced Torah study with compulsory military service. Students typically serve in the army while maintaining religious observance, creating a unique blend of spiritual and civilian duty.

• hesder
• yeshiva
• religious education
• israeli army

The events occur in present-day Israel, within the modern context of Hesder yeshiva life and compulsory military service. The contemporary setting highlights how faith, duty, and personal identity collide in today's society.

• present day
• modern israel
• contemporary

The film explores several interconnected themes: identity conflict between sexual orientation and religious beliefs, forbidden love between two men within an orthodox context, the power dynamics of religious authority, and the journey toward self-acceptance. These themes intersect to examine what it means to be faithful to both oneself and one's faith.

• identity
• forbidden love
• self-acceptance
• religious authority
• themes

Ohad is a Hesder soldier and trainee in the IDF who hides his sexual orientation from his religious community. He struggles with the conflict between his sexual identity and his religious identity, ultimately seeking help through conversion therapy and a forty-day fasting ritual in an attempt to change himself.

• ohad
• protagonist
• hesder soldier
• identity struggle

Nir is Ohad's best friend and fellow yeshiva student who returns from army service to the Hesder yeshiva. His return reignites Ohad's emotional turmoil. Nir takes a hard stance against Ohad's feelings, telling him to leave the yeshiva and reflecting the rigid religious norms that shape his response.

• nir
• friend
• religious rejection
• relationship

Atzat Lev is portrayed in the film as a call-center that offers conversion therapy services to religious Jews struggling with their sexuality. The film presents this organization as representing coercive tactics used to police sexuality within religious communities, exposing how some religious authorities attempt to suppress rather than accept individuals.

• atzat lev
• conversion therapy
• religious authority

The rubber band Ohad wears on his wrist represents his attempt to control and suppress his sexual feelings through physical pain. It symbolizes the coercive nature of conversion therapy and self-punishment. Removing the rubber band marks his turning point toward self-acceptance.

• rubber band
• symbolism
• conversion therapy
• self-punishment

The film examines how rigid definitions of identity can be both oppressive and formative. It portrays Ohad's struggle as a test of faith where he must reconcile who he is with what his religion demands. The narrative suggests that true faith requires honesty with oneself, not suppression of one's nature.

• identity
• sexuality
• religion
• self-honesty

The film questions the legitimacy and humanity of religious authority when it conflicts with personal truth. It shows how tradition can override empathy, as seen in Nir's harsh stance and the prohibition against the Cohanim blessing. The film suggests that blindly following doctrinal boundaries can cause harm to individuals.

• religious authority
• tradition
• critique
• church-state

The film has a melancholic, emotionally heavy tone focused on internal psychological struggle. The slow pacing emphasizes the agonizing duration of Ohad's forty-day fast and lingering scenes of spiritual torment. It creates a consistently tense atmosphere that mirrors the protagonist's internal pain and self-punishment.

• tone
• atmosphere
• melancholy
• psychological drama

The ending is bittersweet. Ohad removes the rubber band and performs the priestly blessing, indicating a personal victory through self-acceptance. However, this triumph is set against the harsh rejection from his friend and community. It offers resolution without a traditionally happy conclusion, showing healing as a personal choice rather than reconciliation with others.

• ending
• resolution
• self-acceptance
• bittersweet