Lech Lecha

 בס״ד



Lech Lecha


At thirteen Yishmael was circumcised,

along with his father Avraham,

a painful moment of rebirth shared,

unique between father and son.


What a visceral link that must have been,

but what this parsha leaves unexpressed,

is that Yishmael will be sent away,

Although, he too, will be blessed.


What is the nature of the covenant sealed,

with this “wild ass” of a nation,

a character trait that’s generously shared,

with each subsequent generation?




Noach

 בס״ד



Noach


They could have been a band of brothers,

Survivors of a world be-drowned,

But Shem alone, and not the others,

Was close to God, so upward bound.


Brotherly love is not, at the last,

Assurance of spirit in common,

For Yafet followed a middle path,

And Cham, he chose the bottom.


When Aaron and Moshe Rebbeinu synced,

We see a fraternal exception,

The credit belongs to Miriam, I think,

For a sister can disarm dissension.







Bereishis

 בס״ד



Bereishis


- created again -

- formed of clay -

once more infused with

the breath of life


what choices shall we

make this time

- giving or taking -

- making or breaking -


- eternal life -

- or unrelenting struggle -

would we put down our pekele

if given the chance


or say “no thanks”

without our burdens

how can there be

joy





V'Zos HaBracha/Simchas Torah

 בס״ד



V'Zos HaBracha/Simchas Torah


East of the Jordan,

On a mountain in Gad,

Rest the footsteps of Moshe,

The last that he trod.


Not pillar, nor gravestone,

Has there been detected,

No stone, no matzevah,

Was ever erected.


Like Aaron his brother,

And Miriam, in death,

No tomb could suffice,

Once he drew his last breath.


No, he etched his own marker,

As was bound from his birth,

Upon tablets of stone,

Which he drew from the earth.





Shabbos Chol HaMoed Sukkos

 בס״ד



Shabbos Chol HaMoed Sukkos


First comes an earthquake,

Then Gog and Magog,

Next Moshiach is coming,

Before we’re too old.


So recline in your Sukkah,

Be joyful and sing,

We’ll rely on HaShem,

As we wield David’s Sling.


As Yechezkel predicted,

Perhaps for our dor,

We will use those who hate us,

to mop up the floor.




Sukkos

 בס״ד



Sukkos


the wings within which I am sheltered,

this bamboo roof, these fabric walls,

sunlight peeking though reed feathers,

shimmering, speckled, as it falls.


the encircling cloth veils and refines,

sun and starlight, smoothing,

what wings are these that envelope me,

whose quiet voice whispering, soothing?


by human hand erected, but a fluttering presence

alights within it, pinions unfolding,

a je ne sais quoi, an essence,

that the sukkah's dearly holding.


these wings are not for flying,

they are for embracing

the ones we love.




Yom Kippur/Shabbos

 בס״ד



Yom Kippur/Shabbos


I used to be critical of Yonah


He flees from his mission

and his K’el


Avoids tshuva ’til he’s in the belly

 of a whale


Completes his assignment in a

half-hearted way


Pouts and sulks when he doesn’t

have a say


I used to be critical of Yonah


But he sounds just like me




Lech Lecha