Balmore Eruv Verve!
Once there was a Rabbi Yonah,
Whose Shabbos Eruv made you wonder,
Does Yonah’s art belong in the Louvre?
Does our gratitude behoove yah?
This Detroit Tiger slams a Homah!
For Yonah is Balmore’s donor,
Mesiras Nefesh, never a groaner,
Keeping Jews in the groove,
It only goes to prove,
Huh? Giving generously makes one an owner!
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)
Two candles lit Friday night
the husband's, the wife's
The wife's cooked and cleaned
the husband's learned and dreamed (He's learned the Torah).
Separate tasks, separate roles
in pursuit of Shabbos' lofty goal...
Saturday night, the Sabbath now spent
the meals all delicious
the learning sweet
So quickly the time went
The moment has come
to separate the holy from the profane
One candle -- intertwined two wicks, two flames
May their union all week remain...
Streaming into Shabbos,* the pace quickens
as if reading a novel where the plot thickens
Only an hour left,
so much to do and to shlepp**
How will it all get done
~ Let the adrenaline run ...
Down goes the sun
All tasks completed one by one
______________________________________________
*'Shabbos' = the Jewish Sabbath, starting Friday evening
**'schlepp' = carry; haul
~ Sabbath in the Olden Times ~
(Shabbos in der Alter Tzeiten) The title in the Yiddish language
Mama lit the candles
Totty blessed the wine Father
Tova's white headband Female (here, a girl) first name
her hair and face a-shine
Duvid sang a zemer Boy's nickname; Sabbath song
Totty and the orech pitched in Guest
The kneidlach oh-so-delicious Matzo balls (in the soup)
On Shabbos eating's no sin
We benched grace in style After-meal blessings
tender melodies lingered a while...
Time to wish a teyere 'Gut Shabbos' A precious 'Good Sabbath'
up to bed for a sweet night's rest
11/4/2023
~~Be quiet now, stir not a single soul~~
Though your hot tears fall hard as boulders,
We are deaf, we give you the coldest shoulder.
Your screams for humanity and justice, we don’t care.
We cover our faces, are out to march,you had best beware!
Of felonious climate change, yes, do write of and sing.
But of actual violence,don’t you even dare say one thing!
Were you under an allusion,that you had no enemies here?
Wake up…we slew you long ago, too bad, you just didn’t hear!
A poor soul approached who was singing the blues
He asked, 'What does God no longer want me to do?'
'What is hateful to you, do not do to others
All the rest is commentary, my dear brother'
He said, 'I've never heard it that way before
When you've time, I'd like to hear more'
Though I thanked the blues singer very much ~
Hillel's words, not mine, his heart touched
_____________________________________
Hillel was a Talmudic Sage of the 1st Century
BCE. On the brink of the Sabbath one late Fri-
day afternoon, a stranger asked him: 'Tell me
the Torah on one foot.' Hillel replied, 'What is
hateful to you do not do to others. All the rest
is commentary. Go and learn.' (Talmud,
Shabbos 31a)
Wind me up
Let me go
Here I come
I'm in the flow
Sunday, Monday
moving fast
Tuesday, Wednesday
Will it last?
Thursday, Friday
Now I'm gassed
Hurray for Shabbos*
The week has passed
_______________________
*'Shabbos' means 'Sabbath'
in Yiddish
The Sabbath is a Joy and Light
to those who taste of its delight
Sanctify the bread and wine
Greet the Angels, candles shine
Momma's dishes ace the test
Poppa's dressed in Shabbos best
Children tell their Bible stories
Heaven beams in all her Glory
Three thousand years of Faith the wait
In God our Faith, not 'Chance' or 'Fate' ~
Now the Sabbath blesses all Israel
Our Promised Land, the Jewish State
~ Sabbath Peace, Everyone ~
Love your friend* as yourself
That is the whole Torah**
The rest is commentary
How can that be?
We are commanded to love God too
with all our heart, soul, and might***
So how is just loving your friend
to Almighty God not a slight?
The answer, of course, lies in the verse --
Who is the friend you can count on
Through thick and thin, through bad and worse?
~ Why, that friend is God, foremost and first ****
_______________________________________
*Leviticus 19:18: 'Love your friend as yourself,'
The word ' your friend' (Hebrew, rey-eh'cha) is
often mistranslated into English as 'your neighbor.'
In Biblical and Talmudic Hebrew, 'rey'us' always
refers to friendship. 'Shakhen' is 'neighbor.'
**This is how the Sage Hillel responded to a
fellow who wanted to be taught the whole
Torah while standing on one leg. (See Talmud
Shabbos 31a).
***Deuteronomy 6:5
****See Proverbs 27:10: 'Do not forsake your
friend and your father's friend...' (Your father's
friend is God Himself -- Rashi's Commentary).
The Chicago winds blew the soft, dark blue
satin drapes.
It was the spring of our passion.
Why do tears fall now, with you in a cold grave?
I think of what our life would have been like in Israel.
But of those never to be Shabbos meals, I can never tell.
You told me you were dying, but I did not believe you.
A mensch like you? Impossible!
Then, HaShem took you home on the last day of High Holidays.
The Chicago winds no longer blow the soft, dark blue satin
drapes ever again in Chicago.
Lake Michigan, outside my window and I still waiting.
In a stunned,silence.
Still hopelessly,languishing longing for you!
10-5-2020
Stroke Deliverance
When discombobulated, Hit the Restart Button,
Restart...Happened 6 July 2011,
Now the 7th Milestone,
Dr. Cooper rescued my life before we were to Daven,
Unconscious 5 hours, 105* F., was able to say "I was Yidden",
Asked "Did I recognize anyone?",
"Yes, Barbara! My wife Lovin'!",
"Teshukos", God has No needs but Desires to Overflow for Man,
As does Barbara! Who spent Day & Night at Mt. Pleasant,
Who'd have expected? An Earthquake! What's It All Portend?,
Also Massei we read, the 42 Journeys, this was surely One,
7, "Leave Well 'Nuff Alone!", Shabbos, 1,000 Mosiach yrs., B"H "Stroke's End",
Thank you Dr. Cooper, Barbara, Rav Shuch, I'm to be still Kickin'!!!
A Ger's Aware Stares
See the flicker flame duo dance,
Shabbos & Yom Tov mesmerance,
My eyes are stymied: Chosen to share life?
Apex companion she, gold circled wife,
Sighting elusive meaning, Torah wrestling,
Sage insights bring awe, humble reflective nestling,
Hebrew tears for mankind demand scoping,
Pleading prayers are such, not be vain our hoping,
The Divine is listening with eyes, fully attending,
Long vigils are not only ours, He waits, mending,
Sideways peripheral glances are all we are granted,
Due to Ego illusions, winds make upright slanted,
This Ger beholds that even tho' all seems inverted,
I'm grateful to be alive, married, and converted!
Stroke Deliverance
When discombobulated, Hit the Restart Button,
Restart...Happened 6 July 2011,
Now the 7th Milestone,
Dr. Cooper rescued my life before we were to Daven,
Unconscious 5 hours, 105* F., was able to say "I was Yidden",
Asked "Did I recognize anyone?",
"Yes, Barbara! My wife Lovin'!",
"Teshukos", God has No needs but Desires to Overflow for Man,
As does Barbara! Who spent Day & Night at Mt. Pleasant,
Who'd have expected? An Earthquake! What's It All Portend?,
Also Massei we read, the 42 Journeys, this was surely One,
7, "Leave Well 'Nuff Alone!", Shabbos, 1,000 Mosiach yrs., B"H "Stroke's End",
Thank you Dr. Cooper, Barbara, Rav Shuch, I'm to be still Kickin'!!!
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.