A few hundred ragtag, rabbinic Maccabees
faced the might of Antiochus’ army
60,000 fighting men strong
The Chanukah story we all know
The rabbis delivered Greece a knockout blow
Rededicated the Temple, and with a small cruise of oil
lit the lamps of the Menorah, eight nights in all
Yet in our prayers, not a single word about
the military prowess of the ‘Mighty Maccabees’
We thank God, and God alone, for routing Greece
Mattathias, the leader, and his sons,
five indomitable priests
we praise instead
~ but only for their spiritual feats
___________________________________________
The Talmud asks: 'What is Chanukah?' The above is
(a much-condensed version of) the answer it gives.
(Tractate 'Shabbos,' 21a - 23b)... Also found in the
'Abridged Book of Jewish Law, Laws of Chanukah,
Solomon Gantzfried, (English version)
Categories:
rabbis, chanukah, history, inspirational, jewish,
Form: Rhyme
They scoff at us Jews for our traditions
the myriad laws and restrictions
Never mixing milk and meat
watching every bite we eat
No wearing garments of mixed materials
not even on our ‘interiors’
Never planting mixed seeds, and
for our cattle no non-kosher feed
Letting the land lie fallow every seven years
no matter some accounts in arrears…
Yet these traditions ensure ecological balance
which our Rabbis safeguard with Talmudic talent
Categories:
rabbis, clothes, earth, environment, food,
Form: Couplet
My eyes were clear
Despite the gray skies.
We were to go to the temple today.
I was to meet the rabbis and Jewish elders.
To what end I don’t know.
I implore love with every pathway.
My Mother is shouting at me.
I must find my clothes.
I should stop writing these things naked.
Categories:
rabbis, jesus,
Form: Free verse
Over eight hundred Palestinian women and children held hostage by Israel
no charges, no crimes, an IOF soldier confessed, intimidation the goal
IOF using children as human shields
on Oct 7th IOF helicopters shot their own, as documented by Haaretz
at the exact same time, Palestinians were having their homes bull dozed
their land stolen
seventy fives years of de humanization
National geographic has a map of 1947
please have a look
then go read
Jimmy Carters books
the IOF snipers shot a woman and child in a church
think about that
life has no value, they care not who they kill
aid workers and reporters
fodder for their guns
Hannibal's directive you can not make this up
the Israeli Supreme court has spoken many times
a people who welcomed the European as refugees
soon to regret their kindness
Israel formed by terrorists, so lets condemn this terror
the true Semites of the land, Jews and rabbis
stand by their Palestinian brothers and sisters
holocaust families handing tissues, they saw it once before
now thousands of children slaughtered
you are witnessing evil first hand
seventy five years or horror and crimes
Categories:
rabbis, evil,
Form: Free verse
Rabbis, Preachers, and Priests
Imams and Monks from the East
Each bow to a higher power
But some gets paid by the hour
They vow to love thy neighbor
But profit from all their labor
They'll soon be expecting half
As they worship the Golden Calf
Categories:
rabbis, religion,
Form: Rhyme
One of the many secrets of life:
There is no true freedom.
Man is slave to his own ignorance
And to his own personal sense of reality.
This, in turn, leads to another secret:
The only true sin is ignorance.
All the sought-out and accepted teachings
Of priests and prophets,
Rabbis and theologians,
Imams and evangelicals
Are just rhetoric, empty words from hollow men
Purportedly meant to give
Comfort and order to Man's life,
But only succeed in burdening him
With a genuine and profound sense
Of undeserved guilt for sins he did not commit.
All the answers Man thinks
He learns from these teachings about life's secrets
Are merely vague, naïve assumptions
Based on unlistened to answers
To unanswered questions,
In his trite and pitiful attempt
To deal with the biggest secret of all…
The reality of death…
And coming, finally, to the inevitable conclusion
That there is no arguing with reality.
Author's note: There is no forestalling the inevitable moment, whenever it may come. The best that most of us can hope for is, that when it's our turn, we might possibly go saddened but not embittered.
Categories:
rabbis, death, life, philosophy,
Form: Free verse
Fears of wizards and witches
That place the spells
and puts you in stitches
Angels and demons
That makes you yell
With swords and pitchforks
To keep you in hell
Kings and Queens
Unlimited power
Cruelty begun for untold hours
Lawmen and criminals
But here’s the pun
Verses our mortality
They both have guns
Priest make the sacrifices
Rabbis tell us why
Mothers loving children
Fathers discipline make them cry
Daughters raised in fashion
Away from the passions of the sons
Judges playing politicians
Lawyers lying for cases won
Time is a gift of the living
Where death is the deadline begun
Freedom is worth beginning
If risk is worth a son
The law once protected
But now we regret
The law we once loved
Has now become a threat
What happened to the paperwork
The Magna Carta and Constitution
Where is God
in all this disillusion
A new heaven
And new earth
Are His only solution
To end this mess
and all this confusion
Categories:
rabbis, bullying, christian, future, meaningful,
Form: Rhyme
The verse says at age 120 'Moses went'
but didn't mention where he was going
Some say to Heaven he was sent
yet many Rabbis profess not knowing
Though I'm neither Rabbi nor scholar
I'll bet you ten bucks to a dollar
That '24/7 with G-d' gave old Grandpa psychosis
~ so he moved right back in with Grandma Moses
__________________________________
Deuteronomy 31:1 -- 'And Moses went,
and he spoke the following words to all
Israel.' (Translated from Hebrew by
chabad.org)
Categories:
rabbis, bible, giggle, jewish, marriage,
Form: Light Verse
A bara k'davra
I shall create what I say
With ten such utterances
God brought our world into play
___________________________
Note: According to the Rabbis of
the Talmud, God created the world
with ten statements, the first of
which was 'Let there be Light.'
Categories:
rabbis, god, magic, spoken word,
Form: Rhyme
We saw it up in the sky
On a cloudless and blissful morning
Shinning like the noonday sun
Rising gently but graciously
From the east heading towards the west
Not like a sun going to set
But as a king going to conquer and reign
To Bethlehem, a lonely village in Judea it headed
It's appearance sent fear to the heart of Herod
He gazed in confusion yet he could not see it
The chief priests and rabbis were thrown into sleepless nights
Searching for insight like a lost jewelry
“But whose star is this?”
It is HIS (JESUS) STAR
Come and let’s celebrate the Eternal King
Categories:
rabbis, christian, christmas,
Form: Free verse
And though it seems like a
long lost dream,
Know that we’ve got your back
This insanity won’t last forever
It’s bound to fade away fast
Doctors, nurses and
Childcare workers
Police and Firemen
Pilots, Preists and Rabbis
Teachers, Family and Friends
We all rely on you
When you do what you do
You do what you can
For the old and the young
The rich and the poor
We send all our love and little bit more
Here’s hoping this all will
ring true
For tomorrow and all the days yet to come
We all know what to do
Categories:
rabbis, appreciation, bereavement, care, celebration,
Form: Lyric
He entered Jerusalem on an ass
as the crowd lay palm fronds before his feet.
And multitudes cheered Him as he rode pass
loved by the poor, yet feared by the elite.
The charge of insurrection once implied,
allowed Pontius Pilate to end His days.
And Jewish Rabbis had Him crucified
for challenging their traditional ways.
Roman soldiers mercilessly scourged Him,
stripping muscle and sinew to the bone.
And weaving a crown of thorns on a whim,
they mocked this king of kings without a throne.
"Forgive them, Lord, they know not what they do,"
with these words, He died on the cross, that’s true.
(Sonnet)
04/10/2020
Categories:
rabbis, 10th grade, 11th grade,
Form: Sonnet
A Big NO to God
Some take great pride in declaring God dead.
What are the thoughts in
their godless heads?
A world where infanticide is perfectly alright.
And "choice"is a word, that makes evil, right?
Where Rabbis are shot dead in the street?
And a Christian poem, their eyes will not meet.
And love and world peace are their hue and cry.
Yet, they can't understand why, the violence, asking,
"why, oh why?"
Brainwashed in our society to think guns kill people.
You never find these folks in a synagogue nor under
a steeple.
Don't you know it's fine today, to attack the police?
And the working man, well, he must be fleeced!
It's perfectly OK to do whatever you choose!
Their close friends only, with them, do they want to
schmooze.
Chasing animal and tree rights, yes that's their religion.
And so, Almighty God, is crushed to a smidgen!
December 26, 2019
Categories:
rabbis, god, political,
Form: Couplet
Bravery was required and being willing to stand for freedom and justice was demanded. Apathy, cowardice, and indifference only provided ammunition for the ever-imposing Roman government.
Rebellion was in my blood, and I was willing to shed it all for the cause of Jewish freedom. Anything less than force and violence was never going to get the job done, not even Jesus Christ because all of the religious sects, rabbis, and High Priests were simply being used by the Romans.
Being a rebel for the cause of freedom and the restoration of Israel was all I cared anything about. As I found myself caught up in the same judicial system as Jesus, I encountered the crossroad of my life. Sadness filled my heart, and tears filled my eyes as the masses chose to free me a criminal instead of Jesus.
03032019PoSoup
Categories:
rabbis, easter,
Form: Personification
Jerusalem
O Jerusalem, the eternal and the Holy City
Your free blue heavens covers You
Victorious flags fly over You
And Star of David shine above you
You're surrounded by the desert of gold dust.
Sometimes a music is heard in the streets
And sometimes a lion's roar
Through Your old streets walked the Holy
And today, fearless and proud warriors
Children of Your children
To which the saber rests in his hand
Never to attack, but always to defend
Every stone of the Jewish land.
Many martyrs came to you, tortured
They made their nests in you,
To rebirth their tortured soul
God invited them to the synagogues
Where rabbis remind and teach them
The ancient wisdom of glorious ancestors
Which are written in the oldest books.
Categories:
rabbis, patriotic,
Form: Ballad
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