Netzavim-Vayeilech

 בס״ד

Netzavim-Vayeilech

Together we stand, and together 

we fall,

The choices are ours, be it sunshine 

or squall,

The more we accuse, and speak ill 

about “them”,

Misfortune will follow, so don’t 

blame HaShem.

All of creation responds to 

our actions,

If we choose to unite, or divide 

into factions,

To our Land we’ve returned, from darkness 

to light,

Despite all our errors, we did 

some things right. 

The song we now sing, is a tune of 

our making,

Make it resonate well, and not set the 

earth quaking,

So, stand as our witnesses, heaven

 and earth,

Air, water, and dust, the stuff of 

our birth.

Ki Savo

 בס״ד

Ki Savo

Brachas and klalahs,

From Grizim and Eval,

Floating out of the valley,

Where the Levi’im intone.

Amen, we say, again and again,

How can one say amen to a klalah -

May it be Thy will, HaShem,

To punish us as needed?

We give our lives over,

Not only for onesh, but for skhar,

To Him alone, is our consent granted,

To kiss, or to chastise.

A child gives permission to another,

To praise and to scold,

But it must be earned,

There must first be, relationship.

A grandchild must first trust,

Before looking into the eyes,

And accepting the embrace,

Of a grandfather.

Ki Seitze

 בס״ד

Ki Seitze

A hated’s first son must inherit,

But not so with Leah’s Reuven,

Yosef is Rochel’s, but he’s sold away,

To Mitzrayim he goes down in chains.

Yishmael does not get the bochura,

And Esav the Ruddy gets shunned,

And both bochurim might well be described,

As wayward rebellious sons.

But if we heed Avraham’s example,

And that of Yitzchak as well,

And Yaakov, too, when it comes down to that,

There’s an alternate pattern to tell. 

The more laws the better it seems,

Ask any Israeli official,

But breaking the rules is our national sport,

Our models are extra-judicial.

Shoftim

 בס״ד

Shoftim

Where have they gone,

Leaders by a greater light guided,

Not out of pride,

But out of calling.

Where might they be found,

Those humble ones,

Who only reluctantly leave the peace,

 of home, farm, village.

Where are the ones who toil,

Not for horses, nor wives,

Nor silver, nor gold,

But for a higher purpose.

Where should we search,

For one who treasures the klal,

And cherishes the prat,

And teaches by example.

Look to the one who remains above the fray,

Who learns from the errors of our past,

And thus, to whom we are all inclined,

To listen.

Re'eh

 בס״ד

Re’eh

it seems we must be high or low,

to blessed be, or cursed,

the middle ground is not for us,

for to be nowhere’s even worse.

should we live our lives avoiding,

focused on the “Thou Shalt Nots”,

or should we, with love, embrace them both,

not rope ourselves in knots.

“kadesh atzmecha b’mutar lach”,

be sanctified in what is permitted,

give them equal zest, that’s what is best,

accomplish both with simcha.

the bracha is to serve HaShem,

with no sadness be alloyed,

the curse, perhaps, ta’aseh or lo,

without a sense of joy.

but someplace in the middle,

we’re neither here nor there,

as if to say, if right or wrong,

i really do not care.

Eikev

 בס״ד

Eikev

You shall teach them to your children…

The messages, spoken and unspoken,

our parents passed on to us,

subliminally, yet thirstily, absorbed,

still whisper to us.

Certain life lessons are never lost,

those that are touched by love,

that fill us with laughter,

or spark wonder at their wisdom.

We may have travelled far,

but we dip into those deep, still waters,

of word and of example,

above all when facing the unforeseen.

Under stress, a young father falls back

to his default setting,

upon the example he was shown,

of Aba.

Hence we are commanded -

You shall teach them to your children…

V'eschanan

 בס״ד

V’eschanan

we are tethered to our past

our eyes prone to blindness

to see abandonment

our history proves otherwise

devarim and v’eschanan

one fall after another

yet we are given all the tools

to raise ourselves up

devarim always on chazon

v’eschanan unfailingly nachamu

exile and onesh

ever followed by nachama

we are His treasured people

His love never ceases

He is faithful

to the thousandth generation

our lives are a seesaw

one end rises - one end falls

our Creator provides the pivot

else the dormant plank decays