Joseph firstborn of Rachel
Yehudah, the fourth son of Leah
Between them a rivalry from the start
Two future kings, already fighting as lads
Yehuda and his brothers mocking Joseph’s immaturity
Joseph reporting to his father their impurities
Joseph told his kingly dreams to his brothers on a whim
Yehuda and his brothers almost murdered him
Yet decades later, the two kings were reconciled
The would-be murderer apologizing to
the ruler of the Nile – Joseph – surprise!
Closing in by land, the Egyptians on the attack
From the other side, the deep sea at their backs
Had the newly liberated Hebrew slaves
just dug themselves watery graves
Prayer may be the Jewish weapon of choice
but this time one man found a different voice
From the tribe of Yehuda, Nachshon, its prince
taking steadfast steps into the sea, convinced
The G-d of Israel to command Moses, "Your staff, now raise!
Split the sea!" The courage of Nachshon of Yehuda forever praise!
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The Torah portion in synagogues around the world this week is Exo-
dus 13:12 - 17:16. It includes the courageous act of Nachshon, son
of Aminadav (as he is named in the Torah), the miraculous Splitting
of the Red Sea, and two famous songs of gratitude and praise after-
ward: the first, that of Moses and the men; the second, that of Mir-
iam and the women.
Iran seized 66 American hostages in 1979
held 52 for more than a year
The pressure on Jimmy Carter was too much to bear
So, the President attempted a rescue mission
though it failed, he just couldn’t do nothing
Yet on the day of 'Dutch' Reagan’s inauguration
Iran released all 52, because RR did ‘something’
That ‘novel something’ that Ronnie R. did
He talked tough, didn’t blink an eyelid
Today, Joe Biden gives away billions to the mullahs
like Santa Claus, he’s such a ‘jolly good fella’…
And where is the outcry today
for the 20 Americans still in harm’s way
Seems Americans have taken a shine to Hamas*
for which the hostages and their families
are at quite a loss
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* Hamas is Iran's proxy in Gaza, and in Yehuda and
Shomron, (aka 'The West Bank' of the Jordan River).
( after Yehuda Amichai measured the diameter of a bomb)
At times I have this curious feeling that
I am married to a bomb.
But then, I often ponder, I am not even distantly
Related to any explosive tribe.
How come, then, I am spousing an IED?
I am not even a bullet, for heaven's sake.
My bomb is pregnant.
But I am afraid of fathering baby bombs.
But I am cornered by bomb makers.
I shouldn't have voted for you.
I should have known, better than sulphur,
That in the chemistry of explosions
Beating of hearts, of love and its inhabitants,
Could, at least, pacify or divert
Projectiles of missiles from harming hearths,
If bombs have families.
FOR YEHUDA AMICHAI
Gabriel A. Levicky
When a poet dies,
Rewind his piercing fingers
And
Shout:
Open the gates!
When a poet flies by,
Brush your remaining hair
And
Build a tent
In the heart of a new poem.
When a poet is born again,
Learn how to walk on the water
And
Reinvent long-lasting kisses.