It's become a truism that hardly needs empirical evidence anymore: things break down precisely when we most need them. The power blackout occurs just after you've thrown out that last messy candle. And, of course, when do we need a VCR more than on Yom Kippur.
Thus it was perfectly logical, even predictable, that Hila would stick her hand into the machine less than an hour into the holiday, putting something out of synch. It wasn't really clear what the problem was, nor even if it was major or minor, but it was definitely clear that the machine wasn't working, and that we were in for a long day in which the boys were going to be bored and unruly.
But maybe there is a master plan. After all, had the video not been broken, the television would probably have been on throughout much of the day, and I wouldn't have given in to the urge to watch a movie toward the end of the day. If, that is, the boys would have permitted me to do so instead of watching something from their collection.