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.
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Pharaoh Bathed
Pharaoh bathed in Jews’ blood,
Drawn from brood too young for Torah,
Making his tub’s stones slippery.
.
Slippery stones from the Armenian center,
Affront Jewish sandstone in our Old City,
Populated by Arabs plus Ethiopians;
Vermin nibble innocents.
.
Dodgy cousins crush anew
Our generation’s Hebrew heart while
Angels at each hand,
Before and after Shemyim,
Depict holiness.
.
Seraphs’ deep knowledge,
Their certain, nontacit tears’
Otherworldly minerals enrich
Each remorseful droplet.
.
Merging light/darkness,
Such glories sung from Beyond
Shine, even as we await Moshiach.
.
Am Yisrael Chai
In a caravan, connections
Linking Yerushalmi kugel,
With young, Tzah”l brilliance
Shine through Tel Aviv cello music.
Am Yisrael Chai.
.
Sweetly whispering to Hashem,
Mornings, plus dusk, eve,
Kavanah frames Amidah
Under b’tochen’s tent,
Along whole benches of emunah.
.
One computer architect builds
Little tower blocks for Russian ganim,
Also, ulpanot for Mitzrachi girls,
Whose brothers dream yeshivot gedolot.
Am Yisrael Chai.
.
Our cousins’ crescent frightens the children
Who fish forward from limp promise pockets.
Praise and thanks make memories from disasters.
Too late for perfection,
We cry over losses.
.
Quietly, Mea Shearim’s minyonim
Turn grain in Tiveria trading posts.
Elite’s sweeter than coral reefs
Dwell among Torah and chesed.
Am Yisrael Chai.
.
Busy citadels fly ribbons
Both blue and orange intone
The language of cancellation.
My enemy remembers, causes
Missing workers.
.
Elsewhere, a Polish rabbi’s chocolate son-in-law
Neighbors some tie-dyed ballerinas
Wishing to pirouette in Prague.
Sometimes a siddur manages to bind friends.
Am Yisrael Chai.
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