Short Shabbat Poems

Tethered to the sun
    a downhill racer
  these short Autumn days

  finishing her course
    in a blaze of glory...

  Sabbath's moon rises
    to greet us
   ~ Shabbat Shalom...

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'A Disturbing Piece'

  Arrested, two bearded Jews, for
    'disturbing the peace' with the news

  to those in an Israeli soccer dome
    Today is the Sabbath ~ Shabbat Shalom

    

  _____________________________
  'Shabbat Shalom,' ironically, means 
  'Sabbath Peace...' The arrest was 
   carried out by 'Israeli police' on May 
   20, 2023....

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Tonight is Shabbat
   Many scoff - but I find it a day of peace 
A female rabbi - which is not to everyone's taste 
But she is on my TV 
reading the hallowed words 
Years roll by - often full of pain and suffering 
   We say prayers for healing 
Last Yom Kippur 
  I stood under a tent 
and prayed, prayed hard! 
for my self and my loved ones
I believe someond is listening...

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A new washed morning air
combs my gray muzzle.
I was dog tired, but now
a warm sunlight
unwinds tendons and
taut nerves.

Sunday has its own natural prayers,
Shabbat heals wounds.
we had never thought to mend.

Elsewhere there is darkness and death,
yet in this one golden hour
I stand with all men of goodwill,

old men who know how to pray
on behalf of the hopeful young....

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The years have not always treated us well 
We have taken a pounding from Anti Semites 
And enemies of various backgrounds
But I feel a sense of peace as Shabbat approaches 
Never used to go 
Always went out on Friday night 
But the singing and the music drew me back 
Now I get up and dance at services 
Pretty damn joyous!
I'm no Einstein
But I am smart enough to know 
That Israel must live!...

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A fine man 
    and a fine rabbi 
he has left behind 
   a legacy 
for us to follow 
   Every Sabbath 
he would speak on the Torah 
Every time he spoke 
   we listenced 
Nearing the end 
   he took up the guitar 
and sang a song of Shabbes 
His memory enlightens us 
   The joy he brought 
will live on 
  The joy he brought 
will live on 
    Peace sisters and brothers
Shalom 
Shalom 
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat Shalom...

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~ A Sabbath Dream ~  

When table's set in purest white
   Candles lit and shining bright
Two ministering Angels of Peace
   Blessings for the Sabbath do release  

May each family blessed with their grace 
   Display Sabbath's holy radiance on their face
And bestow that flame upon all mankind
   The Hosts of Heaven in Peace aligned


     
  Wishing one and all a Good Sabbath
             Shabbat Shalom...

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Looking out of my hotel window
I see a blanket of white
as snow comes down from the sky
    The Holy City of King David 
grinds to a halt
Winds are blowing as 
Shabbat comes in
The city reels from the bad weather
Yet I take comfort in the fact
that I have made it to Jerusalem
The holy city of the 
Abrahamic faiths
I hope to see more of this ageless city
before I head home to the fabled Lower East Side
where I make my home...

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Listening to services 
on my computer 
   I remember by 
wild youth 
   Now I sit perched 
on
the 
precipice of old age
  and have only some poetry
                                to show 
                                for it 
Had poetry in the 
    NY Times 
No relationship - except for some nice 
  platonic ones 
     I hear them singing 
  on the computer 
so I will put down my pen 
  drift into Shabbat 
for what its worth...

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I
If space is empty, just nothing, total void -
How can our best minds admit "space is curved"?

II
O the space that inhabits even carnal flesh
More space between organs, atoms than ... what's dense

III
I'll die and return to dust, education makes me think -
Spirit says, "NO THING connects through NO THINK"

IV
My mind is awareness ever, never in my brain
Mind is Supreme Space kidnapped by THE thoughts-train.


(c)Deo, shalom-shabbat shalom!...

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When you are asked 
   where you are going Friday night
tell them you are going
    somewhere near forever
   Our words rise heavenward 
  like smoke from a fire 
as we taste a part of eternity 
   The world as we know it
is something we can deal with 
if we look upwards 
at the heavens with awe
  This special time - this Shabbat 
Links us with the past 
   points the way to 
a worthy future 
  Brings us in tune 
with the lyre David stroked 
  to ease Saul's pain...

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