On the Tigris and the Euphrates
\nWe say, we sit, and cry,
\nThe dream of Zion withered,
\nA messiah who can only lie.<\/p>\n
But we do not sit,
\nAnd we rarely cry.
\nWe \u201clie down and we get up\u201d (\u05d5\u05d1\u05e9\u05db\u05d1\u05da \u05d5\u05d1\u05e7\u05d5\u05de\u05da)
\nWe \u201ccamp and we de-camp,\u201d (\u05d5\u05d9\u05e1\u05e2\u05d5 \u05d5\u05d9\u05d7\u05e0\u05d5)
\nLike angles, we run to and fro, (\u05e8\u05e6\u05d5 \u05d5\u05e9\u05d5\u05d1)
\nWe have not forgotten Zion,
\nRather, long ago we have forgotten why we cry.
\nAnd so we cry for Zion instead,
\nAn interesting solution,
\nTo a problem of conscience.<\/p>\n
A young girl carried her doll to the banks of the Tigris,
\nTo dream about her groom.
\nAnd in her reverie, it slipped from her hands
\nAnd her doll, face down, began to float downstream.
\nAnd she sat down,
\nAnd she cried.
\n\u201cWhy do you cry?\u201d, asked her future groom,
\nOne day soon we will wed.
\n\u201cI do not cry for the doll,\u201d she said,
\nA doll is like stone,
\n\u201cit may have eyes, but it cannot see,
\nIt may have ears but it cannot hear\u2026\u201d
\nI cry for my mother\u2019s chafed hands,
\nAnd broken nails.
\nShe had a dream,
\nAnd sewed it into a doll.
\nAnd she\u2019ll die before we wed.<\/p>\n
Adam and Eve watched the sun set on the sixth day.
\nThey found a large rock and sat
\nAs the world ended as it began.
\nAnd they sat,
\nAnd they cried.
\nThey did not cry because the birds will stop singing,
\nOr the sweet taste of berries will sour.
\nThey cried because they thought
\nIf they had one more day together,
\nThey could understand one other.
\nBut tonight they too must die,
\nAnd take leave with only a taste of the other\u2019s flesh.<\/p>\n
So they dug graves and lay down to sleep.
\nAnd just before they closed their eyes,
\nThey sat down,
\nAnd one last time,
\nThey cried,<\/p>\n
The morning star rose and they heard a sound,
\nA small creature carrying a nut to her child.
\nEach awoke and said, \u201cThis must be heaven.\u201d
\nRising from their graves, they saw each other and knew,
\nThis is not heaven but something called \u201canother day.\u201d
\nAs the first rays of sun struck their backs
\nThey sat down,
\nAnd they cried.<\/p>\n
Poor Jeremiah,
\nThe loneliest man.
\nAs Rembrandt painted him,
\nSitting with head in hand,
\nIn the cleft of a rock,
\nJerusalem burning behind.
\nThere are no real words for unrequited love,
\nAnd tears can never contain enough salt
\nTo match the bitter taste of emptiness.<\/p>\n
Jeremiah sat alone,
\nNot because Jerusalem was burning,
\nBut because no one cared to listen,
\nTo their own hearts burning.
\nThe Temple is like a doll floating in the Tigris.
\nLike stone, \u201cit has eyes but it cannot see,
\nEars but it cannot hear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe it would have been better for them to stay in their graves,
\nOr for the girl to wed her bridegroom right there on the banks of the Tigris,
\nOr for poor Jeremiah to finally forget,
\nThat hearts of stone can burn if the fire ignites from within.<\/p>\n
So do not sit and cry for lifeless stone,
\nOr for some forgotten Zion,
\nBut if you find the need to cry,
\nThere are many who need your tears,
\nLike the chaffed hands of a mother,
\nLike the man in need of bread,
\nLike lovers who bury one another,
\nLike mourners who covet the dead.<\/p>\n
Friday, July 12, 2014, Shabbat Hazon, the Shabbat before Tisha b\u2019Av<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the Tigris and the Euphrates On the Tigris and the Euphrates We say, we sit, and cry, The dream of Zion withered, A messiah who can only lie. But we do not sit, And we rarely cry. We \u201clie down and we get up\u201d (\u05d5\u05d1\u05e9\u05db\u05d1\u05da \u05d5\u05d1\u05e7\u05d5\u05de\u05da) We \u201ccamp and we de-camp,\u201d (\u05d5\u05d9\u05e1\u05e2\u05d5 \u05d5\u05d9\u05d7\u05e0\u05d5) Like … <\/p>\n