Bo

 בס״ד



Bo


at the 49th level of tumah, nothing rises

all that is left - coarseness and sweat

a scorched crust


you will carry this burden - this matzah

a dead weight on your shoulders


beaten down, deflated

you will wend your way in woeful weariness

from west to east - then east to west


 yet miraculously, in only 49 days,

not this blistered bark, but -

leavened loaves will be lifted up


the dough, freshly kneaded

given time to rise




Va'era

 בס״ד



Va’era


what has changed, really.

now we are the ones plagued by wild beasts,

blood, and an icy-hot hail of thundering steel.


still suffering from 

the same affliction.

believing that the pandemic of hate

has been contained,

going back to sleep.


and then, at midnight,

it is our firstborn who are now stricken,

and we are surprised;

appalled at such barbarity

as if our values are theirs.

and then stubbornly placing our trust

once again

in nations, and generals,

rather than the God of Moses.





 

 


Shemos

 בס״ד



Shemos


From sun-baked straw, and Nile mud,

Reddened with our children’s blood,

We cut and kilned our blocks of brick,

Under threat of lash and stick.


Not caring what the slabs were for,

Unlike that tower, in Shinar,

Where they sought to conquer God,

With purpose, hefted high their hods.


The bricks we made, they had no use,

They served to pile on abuse,

To crush us, that’s what was required,

Brick, after sodden brick, we fired.


We worked until our hands were raw,

And then they took away the straw,

With no objective, this decree,

Just to break us, you and me.


O Brick, you misbegotten clone,

Are an impostor, who masquerades as stone,

But the brickwork resting ‘neath God’s feet,

Is of sapphire, with heaven’s light replete*.



* Shemos 24:10, Parshas Mishpatim







Vayechi

 בס״ד



Vayechi


With visionless eyes, as the galus grows dark

Yaakov blesses his sons, yet he sees every spark.

Adam saw all the beasts, while Eden was bright

Called them by name, it was clear in his sight.


Some eyes can see, so long as it’s light

Others can pierce through the thickness of night.

Whose insight was greater, I’m not one to say

But using night vision seems tougher than day.


For Adam the difference ‘tween inside and out

Wasn’t so hidden, there wasn’t much doubt. 

But Yaakov looks deeper, with eyes growing dim

Obscured is the outside, he just sees the in.


As Bereishis was started, so now it ends

From darkness to darkness, and all that portends.

The starlight will weaken, all will seem drear

As we wait in our chains for the moon to appear.





Vayikra