Yisro

 בס״ד

Yisro

i met a man the other night,

who asked if I was an Israelite

he’d seen my tzitzis in plain sight,

on reflection, he should be right.

but only if I choose to hear,

what he truly asks, as he draws near,

“are you of those whose task is clear,

to teach, how Him to love and fear?”

i call myself a simple Jew,

but that’s a title somewhat new,

as Israelites we had a clue,

of the task which we were meant to do.

to hear Him well, and serve as guides,

to all the Peoples, far and wide,

how to serve Him, as implied,

‘round perek nineteen, pasuk five.

Beshalach

 בס״ד

Beshalach

a pillar of cloud, and a pillar of fire

guide us forward, night and day

one a mist, and one a flame

yet, when placed behind us

as if to say: “We have your back”

they join to keep Egypt at bay

a shield of deepest darkness

and a blaze of illuminating light

two incompatible elements

like burning hail, or body and soul

revealed, to be one

Bo

 בס״ד

Bo

Four hundred thirty years of exile

or two hundred and

ten?

Sometimes

space and time are only

outward signs of an exile

that begins in a seemingly distant

past

Sometimes

exile is an unsettled nagging

nibbling at hearts

and minds 

Sometimes

exile is a search for belonging

that is just the beginning

of bringing you

home

 

And what is redemption but

a land and a people choosing 

to live and grow

together?

Va'era

 בס״ד

Va’era

*He started with the eldest,

And then He counted down,

He knew that somewhere in there,

A goel would be found.

He looked carefully at Reuven,

And then his arba sons,

He next inspected Shimon,

But his five were not the ones.

The third in line was Levi,

Of banim he had three,

Gershon first, and then Kahath,

The last was Merari.

While sifting through Kahathi,

Amram’s children had potential,

Aharon, Moshe (and Miriam, too?),

They all were deemed essential.

And so this parsha mentions,

Of the heads of all the houses,

Just the three firstborn of Leah,

(And even names some spouses).

* based upon Kli Yakar

Shemos

 בס״ד

Shemos

It was Basya who found him,

Yocheved who birthed him,

Basya who raised him,

Yocheved who nursed him.

It was Miriam who tracked him,

It was Aaron who sought him,

Zipporah who loved him,

And shepherds who fought him.

It was Yisro of Midian,

Who gave him a home,

There the Ay-bush-ter found him,

In the midbar, alone.

Vayechi

 בס״ד

Vayechi

Our Avos must distinguish,

Between the young son and the old,

Which one should be number one,

And which one should be culled.

Avraham Avinu needed Sarah,

To point out light from dark,

She saw Yitzchok was the future,

Within him the holy spark.

Yitzchok, led by Rivkah’s vision,

Sees that here’s the blessed son,

“Is this Esav, or is it Yaakov?

I’m not sure, but he’s the one”.

But Yaakov has no Rochel,

To perceive with eyes unshaded,

Yet he turns aside his son’s advice,

And sets Efraim first, unaided.

Vayigash

 בס״ד

Vayigash

Yosef had been the favorite son,

Placed above the others,

Why does history repeat itself,

Once reunited with his brothers?

Could this be the final test,

That Yosef placed before them,

Will they be jealous and abuse,

His favored one, Binyamin?

The parsha doesn’t mention if,

The siblings now feel slighted,

It seems the lesson has been learned,

That capsized ship now righted.

Yet maybe seeds are planted here,

For war, that comes in Shoftim,

With Binyamin trounced at Givah,

By all the other shvatim.