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Three Brave Young Men
Pinchas, Yosef and Reuven
Three brave young men
Fleeing a war-ravaged land
Came to a country of sand
Ethiopian Jews driven out
by a Soviet-backed Eritrean rout
Separated from their loved ones
Parents, wives, daughters and sons
Flown to Israel with no language or money
They'd heard it was the land of milk and honey
Now that they'd made it, they'd give it their best
A foreign language and culture, their very first test
Shepherds before, lacking formal education
Never saw electricity, plumbing, or a filling station
But they'd read the Torah in their native tongue
Faith, Hope and Love, the melody their hearts sung
In just two months they could make conversation
Adjusting fast to their new-old nation
Six weeks later they could read a line of the Torah
Tears of joy they did cry; then we all danced the hora
I am privileged to say 'we' because without bragging or preaching
I was the lucky fellow who did these newcomers' language teaching
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This narrative is 100% true. In 1977 Soviet-backed Eritrean troops
invaded neighboring Ethiopia, uprooting many families, including those
of Pinchas, Yosef, and Reuven, three young men in their mid-20's,
married, two of them with children. As far as I know, they never heard
from their families again... Miracles do happen. These three great fellows
were part of a group of the first 120 Jews Israel ever airlifted out of
Ethiopia -- in the dead of night, at tremendous risk ~ gw
Copyright ©
Gershon Wolf
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