Oded Who Wanted to Be Oded

Oded is “special.” Something is wrong and no one knows what it is, when or how it started, or how to handle it. His parents are disappointed and frustrated. From his first school he is sent to a special boarding school and then to a kibbutz. Always referred to as stupid or retarded, he closes up and is unable to express his conviction that there has been a mistake. This is eventually transformed into a need to “show them,” which generates increasingly violent behavior. Everything he tries comes out wrong, creating a closed circle of failure. A chance meeting with one special teacher, who gives Oded the sense that someone understands and believes in him, sets off an outpouring of pain and confusion. Thus begins a process through which Oded slowly returns to normal life.