7 Haiku for Torah Portion Behar-Bechukotai by Rick Lupert (There are a LOT of Jewish laws)

I
Every seven years
free the slaves, or better yet
don’t have slaves at all.

II
This land is your land
this land is my land, but no
this land is God’s land.

III
Property values
differ inside and outside
the walls. Real estate.

IV
All we have to do
is follow the laws of God
to get many perks.

V
It doesn’t look so
good if we reject those laws.
Let’s start with disease.

VI
And the Lord spoke to
Moses, laying out contracts
no lawyer present.

VII
Be strong with these laws
these many laws and we are
sure to be strengthened.

Los Angeles poet Rick Lupert created a the Poetry Super Highway (an online publication and resource for poets), and hosted the Cobalt Cafe weekly poetry reading for almost 21 years. He’s authored 20 collections of poetry, including “I’m a Jew, Are You” (Jewish themed poems) and “Feeding Holy Cats” (Poetry written while a staff member on the first Birthright Israel trip), and most recently “Donut Famine” (Rothco Press, December 2016) and edited the anthologies “Ekphrastia Gone Wild”, “A Poet’s Haggadah”, and “The Night Goes on All Night.” He writes the daily web comic “Cat and Banana” with fellow Los Angeles poet Brendan Constantine. He’s widely published and reads his poetry wherever they let him.