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Jewish Journal

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From The Lupertverse

Life in the Murder Cities — A poem for Torah Portion Vaetchanan

Leave a Comment / From The Lupertverse, Judaism, Poetry, Torah /

Then Moses decided to separate three cities on the side of the Jordan towards the sunrise, so that a murderer might flee there, he who murders his fellow man unintentionally, but did not hate him in time past, that he may flee to one of these cities, so that he might live
     Deuteronomy 4:41-42

This is where they got the idea
for Australia.
This is what happened before they invented
the word manslaughter.
This is for when you make a mistake and
there must be consequences.
This is where the rich white collar
criminals go.
This is for all is not forgiven but we understand
     there were circumstances.
This is all to be set up before anyone
crosses the river.
This is to let you know that not everyone
will be crossing the river.
This is, wait there are three cities? How many
people are accidentally murdering
other people?
This is for will they have their own separate
sports leagues?
This is for future youth fields trips to
the murder cities.
This is for hi, we’re Bill and Susan Murderer
     We moved in next door.
     It’s so nice to meet you.
This is for no one is better than anyone else
in the murder cities.
This is for why can’t we be equal like the people
     in the murder cities?
This for let’s have brunch in the murder city.
     I recommend the manslaughter omelet.
This for I’m glad I don’t live there but the music
at nights in the murder cities
it’s like nowhere else.
This is for I hear they elected Cain mayor
unanimously.
This is for are there separate cities for robbers?
How about Jaywalkers?
This is for I guess we’ll defund the police since
all the criminals live on the
other side of the river.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

Life in the Murder Cities — A poem for Torah Portion Vaetchanan Read More »

My Plant Based Renaissance — A poem for Torah Portion Emor

Leave a Comment / Blogs, From The Lupertverse, Poetry, Torah /

An ox or sheep you shall not slaughter it
and its offspring in one day.
-Leviticus 22:28

When I was a boy I used to go fishing at
the Erie Canal in the heart of the Empire State.

I’ve already told you about how
I never ate the fish I caught but

did I mention the time another boy
who had disguised himself as a man

down by the canal, pointed his BB gun
at a tiny bird in a bush and pulled the trigger?

It fell to the ground, not quite dead and
in an act of what must have been mercy

he crushed it with his man boot until
it moved no more.

It felt unnecessary in all the possible ways.
I remember the last bird I intentionally ate

when I had barely popped out on the
other side of legality, but was still no taller

than a titmouse. It was thousands of miles
away from the memory of that canal bird

in the famous part of the golden state.
I remember thinking this is it.

I’m not a militant vegetarian (though I have
been known to orchestrate a coup if you

leave dishes out on the counter.) You can
eat meat in front of me without apologizing.

(To me anyway…its mother may never
forgive you.) I still crave the taste and I

consider the modern-day plant-based era
we find ourselves in to be a renaissance.

The Torah tells me I should not slaughter
an animal on the same day as its parent.

And I tell the Torah it’s not going to be an
issue for me, and then go to hug my cats

and the fish, and every bird I’ve ever known.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

My Plant Based Renaissance — A poem for Torah Portion Emor Read More »

Blood, and Nudity and Moloch (Oh, My) — A poem for Torah Portion Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

Leave a Comment / Blogs, From The Lupertverse, Judaism, Poetry, Torah /

Therefore, I said to the children of Israel:
None of you shall eat blood
Leviticus 17:12

Rest assured, God, Adonai, Holy One
Unseen Savior, Invisible to the point of
wondering what sounds You make
or bath salts You use, as a vegetarian
(and, I guess, by law as a Jew) no blood
will pass through these lips, as I view it
as sacred inside the, sometimes furry,
beings in which it is housed.
It’s not even an issue.

No man shall come near to any of his close relatives,
to uncover [their] nakedness
Leviticus 18:6

Also not an issue, Divine Kahuna
Hallowed Super Being, Creator and Dispeller
of all body itches, ever since the Garden
I’ve been collecting fig leaves in
the fashionable colors of our days –
Plus, I take my signature on the ketubah
seriously, and know exactly whose fig leaves
I’m allowed to pluck away.

And you shall not give any of your offspring
to pass through for Molech
Leviticus 18:21

I remember, once, standing outside a movie theater
with other people who held words as sacred as the ones
You, oh Revered Giver of scrolly text, put in our faces
by law and tradition every week, shouting Moloch
to each other, and innocent movie patrons, and the sky
where, we assume, You have a condo or a mansion or
a cloud-based tabernacle. We were just quoting a poem
from another nice Jewish boy, whose beard, like Herzl
and Moses before him, had long since entered the dust.
Never fear, oh Totem of DNA and long-gone dinosaurs –
We are the children of the children of the children
We know it has always been You.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

Blood, and Nudity and Moloch (Oh, My) — A poem for Torah Portion Acharei Mot-Kedoshim Read More »

I Wouldn’t Get Used to This – a poem for Torah Portion Tazria-Metzora

Leave a Comment / Blogs, From The Lupertverse, Poetry /

If a man loses the hair on [the back of] his head,
he is bald. He is clean.
Leviticus 13:40

No one complains when babies are bald
but let a few decades go by and if the skin
of our heads becomes visible, it becomes a thing.

Industries have arisen to help us deal with
this affliction. Wigs, magic hair dust you can
sprinkle on the vacated areas, expensive surgeries

that will rearrange your hair like when you were young
and spread your broccoli to the far edges of your plate
to make it seem like you made a dent.

We start out as babies and end up looking like babies.
Our hair makes other arrangements
our skin folds over unto itself

The things inside our skin forget how to work.
We even start to behave like babies.
We get cranky, or at least I do.

And then, too soon, we are treated like them.
Our outside privileges are taken away.
Limits to what machinery we can operate

are put in place, and everything is proofed
so we can do no damage. This is,
despite our complaints, as it should be.

Our bald heads, beacons of normalcy –
hearkening our eventual return to dust.
Gather your brooms, my friends

There’s a cleanup on aisle your entire life.
There’s no way around this.
This has always been temporary.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

I Wouldn’t Get Used to This – a poem for Torah Portion Tazria-Metzora Read More »

Ballad of the Bourbon Man — A poem for Torah Portion Shemini

Leave a Comment / Blogs, From The Lupertverse, Poetry /

Do not drink wine that will lead to intoxication
Leviticus 10:9

I didn’t drink, for no reason at all
for more decades than I can remember.
I think it was a reverse peer pressure thing

as I’m the kind of person who you could
tell to breathe and I would insist no, no
I get my oxygen in my own way.

So when I saw the text prohibiting
drinking wine that will lead to intoxication
I began to reconsider Judaism altogether.

My goal is never to become intoxicated, but
I’m a light-weight and I have to take a nap after
just walking near the wine shelves at Trader Joe’s.

No, I discovered the joys of the sacred beverages
in my thirties, skipping right over whatever they
do in college to get the job done.

I approach it with a yearning to know
what tastes like what, and how it was made
and why it’s better when it’s older.

Since that first Kahlúa and Cream which
broke my personal prohibition in a Las Vegas casino
for no reason at all, I moved on to beer.

I bypassed senseless years of Bud Light and found myself
in a Lambic brewery in the city of Brussels
where a cat followed us around the self-guided tour

as any self-respecting cat would if they had
any idea who I was. I moved on to wine and
eventually found myself in the Loire Valley

where I assume I had the best wine that existed.
I won’t mention my first wine-tasting experience
outside of Solvang, California when I

drank everything they put in front of me
and then found myself surrounded by miniature horses
and streets filled with giant wooden shoes.

I’m a bourbon man now. I’ve sampled it in the
holy-land of Kentucky, and its cousins
in the greenest pastures of Ireland where

the angels take their share.
This is all to say I am relieved to know
there are times to do this, and times to not.

Like Aaron’s sons who didn’t know the difference
and brought their strange fire into the Tent
intoxicated with confidence.

There are consequences to doing what
you shouldn’t. Know what they are or
the Biggest Fire will take you away.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

Ballad of the Bourbon Man — A poem for Torah Portion Shemini Read More »

Please Don’t Eat My Leg — A poem for Torah Portion Tzav

Leave a Comment / Blogs, From The Lupertverse, Poetry /

For I have taken the breast of the waving and the
thigh of the elevation from the children of Israel
Leviticus 7:34

It makes me wonder what unique purposes
the other parts of the body may have…

The kneecap of judgment
The elbow of the solemn oath
The uvula of solitude
The fingernails of it’s really time
to cut the fingernails

The capillary of getting the mail
The left nostril that goes to the Lord
The spleen of Schenectady
The gizzard of, wait-a-minute
human beings don’t have gizzards

The eyeball of silent movies
The earlobe of am I being too loud
The epidermis of fluffy pillows
The tongue of all the words
that spill out of your mouth

The eyelash of attraction
The nipple of delight
The tingling of the you know what
The spleen of what is this pain
in the side of my body

The tooth of has the mail come
The eyebrow of science fiction
The bicep of city planning
The leg of please don’t eat my leg
The palm of the hand that soothes
the cheek of your lover

The lip of the bee sting
The heel of the long road ahead
The navel of the peace among men
The divine plan of it all as the
holy smoke rises up to the sky

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

Please Don’t Eat My Leg — A poem for Torah Portion Tzav Read More »

The Triple Salting — A poem for Torah Portion Vayikra

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And you shall salt every one of your meal offering sacrifices
with salt, and you shall not omit the salt…
Leviticus 2:13

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from
the cooking competition shows of the world, it’s
if you don’t season your food you will lose.

This is ancient knowledge that comes
from the book of Leviticus where the Lord
expresses a preference for salt

twice in one sentence (though, to be fair
it’s a run-on sentence) and then a third time
in an immediately following, brand new sentence.

I realize I’ve used the word sentence three times
in the previous sentence, not to mention the
two additional times in this one

but I’m just following the example of
the Holy One who must really like salt.
I also will be the first to admit that

I wrote about this triple-salting issue
in 2016 in another poem about this exact
same text. It appears on page 62

of my book God Wrestler, which is
full of poems, some of which are
exactly like this, so, if you’re enjoying this

you may want to pick up a copy.
I also reserve the right to write about it
again in the future since I think God

is teaching us about the rule of threes
and how it applies to condiments.
So when I prepare meals for my family

who are sacred, like the Holy One, to me
I will salt as many times as necessary
so the food is pleasing on their tongues.

This is my meal offering to them.
This is how I keep us alive. This knowledge
comes from so long ago.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

The Triple Salting — A poem for Torah Portion Vayikra Read More »

One for the Artists — A poem for Torah Portion Vayakhel-Pekudei

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And he made the menorah of pure gold;
of hammered work he made the menorah
Exodus 37:17

He is Bezalel, an artist.
Because the foundation of
any good society is its artists.

The Menorah, our first symbol.
It came before the star. A spot for
every day of the week –

One in the middle for the
day of rest, on which no flame
shall be made.

Most of us confuse this
with the one for Hanukkah
which has nine spots for light

and is spelled in
all the ways you can imagine.
It’s not easy explaining Judaism

when our symbols overlap –
when there’s a different holiday
for every time the wind blows

and an extra one that
comes every week, that,
despite the constant reminders

we keep forgetting to celebrate.
This is why we need the Menorah.
This is why it’s so specific how it looks.

So when Friday comes along
a golden beam will tell us what to do.
And if we forget, and we will forget,

the text will remind us again and again.
He is Bezalel, an artist. What he made
has always given light.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

One for the Artists — A poem for Torah Portion Vayakhel-Pekudei Read More »

Going Steady With the Lord — A poem for Torah Portion Ki Tisa

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And now, if I have indeed found favor in Your eyes,
pray let me know Your ways
Exodus 33:13

Before we buy property together
we’d like to know where we stand.

Obviously at the mountain but
that doesn’t tell us how You feel.

When it’s an angel’s face instead of Yours
we wonder if You were busy that day

or if You’ve got another chosen group
You’re splitting Your time with.

Is this an open relationship?
That may be okay, but we just

need You to tell us. And when
You’re with us, You’re with us.

We’d like to take You to the
forty-year prom. We’re already

melting our spoils to make You
a golden corsage.

You’ll be the Finest Presence
leading us on this march.

We’re dressing up exactly
the way You want.

So tell us…are we going steady?
Are You ready to make it official?

Or is this a one redemption stand?
We don’t want to rush You, but every

generation yet to come needs to know.
We’re moving Your face to the

front of the parade. If You’re willing
to put Your divine ring on it

You probably already know –
We’re all in. We’re all in.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

Going Steady With the Lord — A poem for Torah Portion Ki Tisa Read More »

My Expensive Tastes: An Origin Story — A poem for Torah Portion Terumah

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And you shall make a menorah of pure gold.
    Exodus 25:31

When the first thing we were asked to make
required us to use solid gold, gold taken

from our former captors, it explained all
my expensive tastes.

My solid gold house
My fat wallet

My trees, bedazzled with
jewel-encrusted fruit.

The groceries we order from
the solid gold market out of principle.

If our artichokes don’t cost double
that of the un-Godly artichokes

they’re not worth putting in our mouths.
Our floor tiles – made out of hundies.

My office chair – live sheep.
We put in an ocean as a wading pool.

The salt-water feature was extra but
I don’t have to tell you it was worth it.

One button and it parts, just so we
don’t have to watch the movie.

I could go on, but I don’t think they’re
paying me enough.

Not a thought given to where the
gold came from while human people

still wait for their forty acres and a mule.
You know, as I read this back

it’s starting to feel like overkill.
I’d like to melt down the golden menorah

and use the proceeds to spruce up Skid Row.
I’m sure we could make do with

something more modest.
We’re about to take a forty-year walk

and no-one’s even discussed
what we’re going to eat.

God Wrestler: a poem for every Torah Portion by Rick LupertLos Angeles poet Rick Lupert created 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 25 collections of poetry, including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion“, “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 “The Tokyo-Van Nuys Express” (Poems written in Japan – Ain’t Got No Press, August 2020) 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.

My Expensive Tastes: An Origin Story — A poem for Torah Portion Terumah Read More »