CATEGORY
Poetry
Kick ‘em in the where? – A poem for Torah Portion Vezot Habracha
Rick Lupert - 0
May the Lord …strike the loins of those who rise up against him
and his enemies, so that they will not recover.
Once in the Chicago...
Sinking Feeling
You know that feeling when you’re running late and there’s no hot water and you’re on hold forever because everyone who doesn’t want to...
Sing it to us Mo! — A Poem for Torah portion Ha’azinu
Rick Lupert - 0
Remember the days of old; reflect
upon
the years of generations
I’m as nostalgic as they come.
I remember walking around my high school
during the first...
Ha’azinu
Rick Lupert - 0
I’ve always said go out with a song.
Let it be the last taste in their mouth
the culmination of the experience.
This one’s a little bit...
Children of Abraham
Efrat settlement
Written during the first intifada, late ’80s
Children of Abraham
both of us
children of Abraham
who walked this holy land
with staff in hand
and faith
Children of Abraham
who...
Poem: The Five Things You Must Know About Rosh Hashanah
Rick Lupert - 0
We owe apples everything, dip one in honey so you can feel that gratitude on your tongue.
The Liminal (Yom Kippur)
Emily Stern - 0
When the sky is orange
at nine a.m., it looks like dusk.
It’s the transitional time
Of twilight and morning
Of nothing itself.
On Yom Kippur, in the liminal...
My Current Promised Land
At dawn, when I face east and cypresses, I smell the ocean.
In the stillness of the heat I hear the palm tree creaking,
dates...
They’re Circumcising Hearts Now: A Poem for Torah Portion Nitzavim-Vayelech
Rick Lupert - 0
And the Lord, your God, will circumcise your heart
and the heart of your offspring
My first thought, and you’ll forgive me everyone
who cringes when even...
Nitzavim
Rick Lupert - 0
This is for you.
You standing at the mountain
and you who only read about the mountain
in a book.
This is for you, all of you.
Your leaders,...
People Have to Eat Every Day — A Poem for Torah Portion Ki Tavo
Rick Lupert - 0
in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give to the Levite,
the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that...
Poem: Ki Teitzei
Rick Lupert - 0
If you are at war and find
your captives are beautiful
the laws of our people,
seventy four of which are
listed this week, tell you
this could lead...
That’s Not Your Ass: A Poem for Torah Portion Ki Teitzei
Rick Lupert - 0
You shall not see your brother's ox or sheep straying, and ignore them.
you shall return them to your brother.
I’ve been dreaming of oxen...
Shoftim: A Septuplet of Haiku
Rick Lupert - 0
I
Worship an idol
be put to death. These are the
laws of our people.
II
A king shall write two
Torah scrolls in his life. No
mention of a queen.
III
Priests...
Poem: Re’eh
Rick Lupert - 0
Welcome back to the longest orientation meeting
in the history of orientation meetings. I hope someone
is writing all this down, because he is still talking.
He...
No Animals Were Harmed in the Writing of This Poem – a poem for Torah portion Re’eh
Rick Lupert - 0
you may eat meat, according to every desire of your soul.
Hello! Vegetarian poet speaking.
I’m here to tell you my soul is conflicted
about its many...
Poem: Today I am Jewish
I am joining a nation of people who have suffered and struggled to find acceptance and a place to call home.
Words are All We’ve Got: A Poem for Torah Portion Eikev
Rick Lupert - 0
Beware that you do not forget the Lord, your God…
…who fed you manna in the desert
I think this is what Joni Mitchell had in...
My Holy GPS: A Poem for Torah Portion Va’etchanan
Rick Lupert - 0
But beware and watch yourself very well,
lest you forget the things that your eyes saw
These are things I saw –
A set of ancient words...
What it Takes: A Poem for Torah Portion Devarim
Rick Lupert - 0
How can I bear your trouble, your burden, and your strife all by myself?
It takes a village
It takes a shtetl
It takes two or more
It...
Matot-Massei
Rick Lupert - 0
I like to think of Israel as a promised land
a refuge, a holy place where everyone in
my extended family belongs.
But how many Midianites did...
Bus Bench Lessons – a poem for Torah Portion Matot-Masei
Rick Lupert - 0
And all the young girls who have no experience of intimate relations
with a man, you may keep alive for yourselves.
This was Moses speaking
Not the...
Pinchas
Rick Lupert - 0
It’s always nice to see a project through to the end.
Especially one you’ve been working on for forty years,
a lifetime really, though back then...
600,000 Followers is Pretty Good
Rick Lupert - 0
These are those counted of the children of Israel:
six hundred and one thousand and seven hundred and thirty
As far as numbers go, that’s pretty...
Yelling at Rebels – a poem for Torah portion Chukat-Balak
Rick Lupert - 0
Now listen, you rebels, can we draw water
for you from this rock?
Moses…not known for his witty banter
not one to give the troops a hard...
Building the Beloved Community: A Prayer
Holy One, we quiver when we consider how long you’ve taught us to love one another,
to have one law that governs us all, one standard of...
Donkeys Lead to More Donkeys – a poem for Torah Portion Korach
Rick Lupert - 0
I have not taken a donkey from a single one of them
Back in the day
donkeys were like pennies.
And if you’re reading this in the...
Kaddish for Black Lives
Eric Greene - 0
This original message was published Friday, June 19 by the Jewish Multiracial Network. It has been republished with permission.
This Friday night Shabbat coincides with Juneteenth, the...
Poem: Sh’lach
Rick Lupert - 0
Just out of Egypt for a year or so and we already have
a system of espionage. Spies! Sent to the promised land.
An advance party...
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