This is the genius of Shtisel . A broken appliance becomes a metaphor for a broken home. The icebox is frosted over, stuck shut—just like the emotions of the men in this family. Shulem’s son, Akiva (the ethereal Michael Aloni), sits in the corner, sketching in a notepad. He is a yeshiva teacher and a gifted artist, a combination that, inside his community, is a ticking time bomb.