Re'eh

 בס״ד

Re’eh

So many commands and instructions,

Each a choice between blessing and curse,

To the right is a life full of gladness,

To the left an existence much worse.

It’s not up to us to decide what is right,

But to learn what is good in God’s eyes,

Yet none of us marches in just the same way,

Our shoes are not all the same size.

Hew from your heart your own luchos,

Upon these may HaShem set His hand,

Each Jew is a separate carvation*,

Sculpted, like each grain of sand.

The same Torah, the same Ohr Yashar,

But there’s more than one shade in that bow,

Every soul a unique hue refracted,

Through a prism that none of us know.

* made-up word: carve + creation

Eikev

 בס״ד

Eikev

- little by little -

you will not annihilate them quickly

but one step at a time

- line by line, line by line -

webs woven of deceit swept away

tunnels of torment toppled

incendiary silos silenced

- lesson by lesson, lesson by lesson -

painfully learned, from a corrupt enemy

each encounter a ghastly glimpse

into an unthinkable abyss

- a little here, a little there -

one bite-sized piece at a time

one amalek after another

consumed, reduced to smoke and ash

V'eschanan

 בס״ד

V’eschanan

What was Moshe’s lamentation,

As he gazed upon the nation,

With misty eyes, in all directions,

What did he see, upon reflection?

I wonder what were his regrets,

What sadnesses did he possess,

Did he dwell upon the past,

His eyes upon his sorrows cast?

No plaint made he on what had been,

Not golden calf, nor meraglim’s sin,

Shepherd of Israel forty years,

Ripe with miracles, moist with tears.

Moshe pled for what comes next,

To with his people, this land to bless,

He yearned to see that bayis ne’eman,

That good mountain, and the Levanon.

God answered him and said, “Rav Lach”,

Like Moshe himself had told Korach,

You ask too much, now be content,

So Moshe stayed, and Yehoshuah went.

Devarim

 בס״ד

Devarim

You had no allies as you crossed the sea,

The only One you had was Me,

Remember what your eyes have seen,

For I am now, as I have been.

Your enemies, their end is near,

Do not be broken, do not fear,

Relying not on fickle friends,

Pursuing their own selfish ends.

You’ve seen it all, and heard the same,

I pronounced for you my Holy Name,

Do now what you have to do,

And I am here to fight with you.

As a nation you must stand alone,

Your Torah, like your weapons, honed,

With both together, you will see,

What happens when they mess with Me.