Eikev

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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

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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

Devarim

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Devarim

We occupy a light-drenched world,

While stellar legions stretch unfurled,

Across the heavens every night,

We’re blinded by our ceaseless light.

We no longer look for signs and meaning,

To heavenly orbs, in dark sky gleaming,

A mysterious realm, from whence were heard,

Soundless secrets, whispered words.

My muse draws me to contemplate,

What could it mean, when Moshe states,

We’re reckoned as the heaven’s stars,

Like moon, and Venus, Saturn, Mars.

Twelve mazalos, across the starscape dance,

A pageant which we rarely chance,

To witness, this wheeling procession pass,

Galaxies of tribes, so vast.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around,

Twinkling - yes winking to us - earthly bound,

Numbers - wonders - subtle clues,

God's simile akins to Jews.

Maatos-Maaseh

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Maatos-Maaseh

The Roshei HaMattos stand before Moshe,

Their staffs no longer eclipsed by Aaron’s,

Time now, for barren branches to blossom,

Sap rising, first fragrant flowers.

Nedarim, shavuahs, to annul or affirm,

Speech, now theirs to protect and consecrate,

To keep the people distant from desecration,

Vows, like saplings, adorning the heavens.

Now to fight the final battle,

Avenging the seductions of Midian,

Levi’im, too, among the legions, and Pinchas,

Who acted, when Moshe was speechless, leads.

Princes, emissaries of the people,

Maatos in hand, plead their case before Moshe,

And, like the b’nos Zelophahad,

Their vows stand.

Pinchas

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Pinchas

Kohanim are the heirs of Aaron,

With only a single exception,

Pinchas receives his “Covenant of Peace”,

Not by blood, but through pivotal action.

We’re taught only sons may inherit the Land,

A yerushah passed down from their fathers,

A waiver is claimed by b’nos Zelophehad,

What if daughters don’t have any brothers?

Rebbe Yishmael speaks about Klal u’Prat,

The particular limits the general,

As with Elazar’s son, and Zelophahad’s girls,

Once the paradigm’s set, it’s perennial.

Balak

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Balak

Balak had no reason, Ramban points out,

He really had nothing to worry about,

We reached out in peace as we came near,

So what in the world did he have to fear?

We were many, and Moav was small,

That, in itself, shouldn’t matter at all,

HaShem had forbidden for us to attack,

The Children of Lot…but we could fight back.

Yet he called upon Bilaam, the Midianite,

With his koach hatuma, like Kryptonite,

To curse and defeat us, but Bilaam perceived,

Blessings, not curses, in the words he received.

It’s often the case, as we see in our time,

That those who oppose us, will often assign,

To us, the atrocities they have rehearsed,

If ,חו״ח, our roles were reversed. *

* chas v’chalila

Chukas

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Chukas

What is this Book of the Wars of HaShem?

It’s a mystery no one has solved,

To answer this riddle, our Rabbis and Sages,

Through the ages were deeply involved.

Were these simply stories the people would tell,

Or a book started by Avraham,

Or snippets from ballads our bards would bring,

Living history they’d sing with aplomb?

A record of things geographic/halachic,

Or a log long maintained by the Am,

Is “The Book of God’s Torah” really its name,

Dost allude to Shir shel Yam?

Is it simply a reference to Sefer Devarim,

Or a record of nations smitten,

A heavenly scroll that sits before God,

Or an untitled book, not yet written?

Ibn Ezra, Rashi, Targum Yerushalmi, Rambam,

Chizkuni, Rokeach, and Onkelos,

Midrash Agaddah, Ohr HaChaim, Ramban,

They’ve each something different to tell us.