Naso/Shavuos

 בס״ד

Naso/Shavuos

The Voice, it speaks, and Moshe hears,

for us…

even if The Voice comes near,

are we e’re disposed to give it ear?

It wasn’t from The Voice, I fear,

the jealous husband brought her here,

to taste the bitter, murky brew,

 her virtue, for to make it clear?

Though HaShem desires to bring us near,

is it The Voice the nazir hears,

when he chooses to eschew,

the many joys that make life dear?

We heard The Voice at Sinai, clear,

from atop the shrouded mountain, drear,

“keep your distance” The Voice declared,

“do not come too near!”

Should we be inclined to turn to voices,

to determine how to make our choices,

is it The Voice we think we hear,

or our own internal noises?

Bamidbar

 בס״ד

Bamidbar

Leah’s sons, to the east and south,

Including those of Zilpah,

Rochel’s to the west and north,

Along with those of Bilhah.

The one exception to the rule,

In the machane of Dan,

Dan and Naftali, of Bilhah’s sons,

But Asher, a Zilpah man.

Mixed they marched, behind the rest,

Naftali, Dan, and Asher,

They gathered up the stragglers,

Never asking, “who's your mother”.

Fraternal concord, by design,

Beyond maternal clan,

Essential, so no bias rends,

The safety net of D-A-N ?

Behar-Bechukosai

 בס״ד

Behar-Bechukosai

I may embrace you, or give you a kick

If the carrot don’t work, I’ll bring out the stick

You are so fickle

It can be assumed

You need to be warned, I’ll “lower the boom”?

Can love be aroused through fear and threats?

Obedience compelled through epithets?

Was it for this

You raised us from the pit

And bade the storm-tossed sea to split?

All those boded terrors came to pass

From the first one, to the last

We cling to You

Await the dawn

Not from dread - but love - we carry on.

Emor

 בס״ד

Emor

Three in the autumn, two in the spring,

Two from our Rabbis, whose praises we sing,

Ordained in the winter, beginning and end,

Because of the miracles, the Aibishter sends.

The summer for mourning, because of disasters,

One after the other - fast, and then faster,

Each season has reasons, to gather together,

And Shabbos is Shabbos, no matter the weather.

Matza, and cheese cake, and huts in the yard,

All challenging topics for this humble bard,

Candles, and latkes, triangular hats,

Honey, and apples, and penitent fasts.

Palm fronds, and myrtle, and pieces of willow,

Shaken with esrog, outside, by the window,

The Torah is given, our neshamas to nourish,

Like water for crops, we need it to flourish.

It’s all done together, one’s never alone,

In shul, or beis medrash, or even at home,

The year, it connects us, one to the other,

Brothers and sisters, and fathers and mothers.

Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

 בס״ד

Acharei Mos-Kedoshim

You shall be holy -

when you shecht and when you eat

when you sow and when you reap

you shall gather for the poor

the gleanings left beyond your door

You shall be holy -

you shall not steal, you shall not lie

nor by My Name shall you swear by

you shall not cheat, nor shall you rob

to be faithful to your God

You shall be holy -

all your workers pay on time

respect the deaf, protect the blind

judge with fairness, don’t tell tales

and be honest with your scales

You will become holy -

when b’ein adam l’chavero

is the way you choose to go

Tazria-Metzora

 בס״ד

Tazria-Metzora

tumah - so alien to us

might as well be from another planet

as foreign to us

as a Beis HaMikdash

deprived of place and process for tahara

we live immersed in tumah

which would have banned us

from the Temple’s precincts

homes, clothes, utensils,

contaminated - but we don’t notice

like the barefoot aborigine

whose calloused feet anesthetize him

unlike the tender soles of that storied Rabbi

in agony from every piddling pebble

Shemini

 בס״ד

Shemini

What could be the difference, I wondered,

Nadav and Abihu’s alien flame,

From HaShem’s commands, they wandered,

To innovate, beyond the frame.

Yet Chazal, of lower generations,

Overrule Rabbi Eliezer’s signals,*

Our Creator, it seems, had other intentions,

But with Beis Din’s rulings, never mingles.

Where did they find it written down,

That Rabbis’ logic rules below,

Are Shamayim’s hands so closely bound?

In Moshe’s time, this was not so.

Anointment oil no protection,

For the Kohen who strayed from the path,

Yet later wise men chose rejection,

And did not incur their Master’s wrath.

Would that God would be explicit,

In these days of shades of grey,

What is true, and what illicit,

Who in our time can truly say?

* Baba Metzia 59a-59b