Shoftim

 בס״ד

Shoftim

The elders and judges did not lift him up,

From the ground, where his journey had ended,

They buried him there, knowing not whom to blame,

But the town that is closest must mend it.

Then they travelled afar, to a valley untilled,

With a calf yet unyoked, to atone,

Their penance, indeed, since the one who was killed,

Had died unaccompanied, alone.

They then led the egel down into the coomb,

Where its neck was solemnly broken,

This withered abyss, to serve as its tomb,

Words of acquittal were spoken.

Why was the traveler not brought to the town,

His kever to serve as a warning,

To care for the stranger like one of your own,

To guide him his way in the morning?

How do desolate canyon, eglah arufah,

Absolve those, who don’t bear any guilt,

Grant redress for a life cut lamentably short,

Whose innocent blood had been spilt?

Re'eh

 בס״ד

Re’eh

Look west to Grizim and Eival,

Towards the setting sun,

There to cast away their pagan gods,

For I’m the only One.

This is the prime directive,

It’s pashut from the verse,

This choice is e’er before you,

One a blessing, one a curse.

But the contrast isn’t always clear,

Dawn and dusk bring shades of grey,

The distinctions may grow fuzzy,

You’ll likely lose your way.

Once you’re west of Grizim and Eival,

Gazing eastward you might find,

The rising sun is dazzling bright,

Its ‘splendence leaves you blind.

If the difference ‘tween those heights,

Is hard to see from time to time,

Each summit, also, has a poet’s heart,

Listen wordless, hear the rhyme.

Eikev

 בס״ד

Eikev

neither prairies nor ocean shores

nor great rivers

but a land of hills and valleys

and streams of water

of goats and of dates

this is the land which God prefers

and bequeaths to us

rising above the cities of the plain

dwelling solitary, upon those heights

a beacon, a lighthouse

upon an isolated point of rock

its narrow beam

moment after moment

slicing through the darkness

heels deeply planted at the edge

on the cusp

rhythmic, pulsating flashes

marking the shoals of chaos

and by its very nature

compelled to stand apart

V'eschanan

 בס״ד

V’eschanan

HaShem allotted to the Peoples,

The sun, the moon, the stars,

To provide illumination,

Which they then turned into gods.*

But to His People, Am Yisroel,

This light is more direct,

Yet we often strive to be like them,

An urge that should be checked.

How is it, then, they often claim,

To be here to replace us,

Not satisfied to be themselves,

They berate, and scold, and chase us?

Perhaps hidden in their loathing,

A rebuke may be detected -

To reflect the radiance shone upon us,

And be a beacon, as directed.

It’s as if they say: “Don’t be like us,

Because, if that’s the case,

We’ll remind you of your tafkid,

And shove it in your face.”

* Devarim 4:19