בס״ד
Naso
Through the Midbar stride the Kohathites,
And they bear the holiest things,
Gilded staves upon their shoulders,
Which are fed through golden rings.
Not with wagons, you families of Amrom,
Yitzhar, Hevron, and Uzziel,
Your conveyance is but brawn and bone,
Your strength not known to fail.
Moshe’s sons serve among the bearers,
These grandsons of Yisro and Amrom,
Humbler, in a way, than their father,
For their tale does not go on.
בס״ד
BaMidbar
“These are the sons of Aaron and Moshe,”
But they’re only the children of Aaron,
Although Moshe’s sons are included as well,
They’re counted in the family of Amrom.
And for the first time, Aaron, the first born,
Gets direction directly from G-d.
Something is changing here in BaMidbar,
Accounting for this will be hard.
Moshe still leads his People, but no longer his Tribe,
Aaron and his sons serve the Mishkan.
And as we’ll learn later,
We must “count” on ourselves,
For there’ll be no one else to lay blame on.
בס״ד
Bechukosai
I’ve been looking into what “keri” means,
It’s sometimes defined as frivolous,
And this was the source of our worst nightmares,
Behavior vain and imperious.
The shmitas were particularly critical,
And the following year of Yovel,
But we took credit for our bounty,
And because of that we fell.
We were scattered among the Nations,
’Til we make up for all those shmitas,
How many we’ve missed,
And when they’re finally paid up,
Is open to different shitas.
בס״ד
Behar
Har Sinai heard each word He said,
Atop her granite shoulders:
“A mountain, too, is a feeling thing,
I’m not just rocks and boulders.”
“I skipped with joy when they were freed,
But won’t feel their tilled embrace,
HaAretz will for six whole years.”
A tear ran down her face.
“From my shrouded peak they heard the call,
So what am I? Chopped liver?
My stony arms felt no caress.”
She reflected with a quiver.
בס״ד
Emor
The Kohanim are the sons of Aaron,
Their yichus is not something they’ve earned,
They must conduct themselves with special care,
Their behavior must be carefully learned.
The son of a Mitzri and an Israelite lass,
Shelomis bas Divri of Dan,
Didn’t have to blaspheme in the way that he did,
He didn’t have to be that kind of man.
ben Shelomis was born of a humbler line,
Yet he could have become someone great,
A Kohain descends from a Gadol Hador,
Yet he still could end up second rate.
A wise man once said that yichus is just
A string of one or more zeros,
It’s up to us to put value up front,
Only then might we become heroes.
בס״ד
Kedoshim
A child will love a father,
And the father must try to earn it,
The child observes his character traits,
From his example the child will learn it.
It’s a bit different with Am Yisrael,
Kedusha is the model before it,
Though our father’s love will never fail,
Becoming kodesh is how we’ll deserve it.
בס״ד
Shevi’i shel Pesach
(From the River to the Sea)
There is a garden that’s waiting for you,
Where you will at last live free,
Beyond the waves and the wilderness dry,
From the River to the Sea.
The exile of Egypt has come to an end,
As my first born you shall be,
A fruitful land is waiting for us,
From the River to the Sea.
Olives, dates, and goats abound,
From the plains to the Galilee,
Such is your ever promised land,
From the River to the Sea.
The blessings of dew and rain will fall,
Nourishing grass and tree,
From the azure sky that shelters you,
From the River to the Sea.
The miracles that I perform for you,
Won’t always be easy to see,
But my hidden gifts will rain upon you,
From the River to the Sea.
Exile may come again at times,
But my love you’ll always be,
The land will yearn and call you back,
From the River to the Sea.
There will be those who call you thieves,
“You took this land from me,”
But it is I who weds you to this land,
From the River to the Sea.
So open your eyes and ears and hearts,
For these things are soon to be,
And treasure your life in the land I love,
From the River to the Sea.
