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.