Aren’t the heavens far too far from earth
for us to pay them very much attention?
Should not earth’s accommodating girth,
despite its gross distension and pretension,
inspire us, leading us as Jews to find
in it the groundwork for uplifting thoughts
more elevated than what comes to mind
when contemplating heaven’s distant courts?
Our soil retains a density with which
the heavens won’t compete, and we can soar
far higher if we make the earth our niche
instead of an imaginary shore.
Although a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
it is the earth’s girth man should try to clasp.
for us to pay them very much attention?
Should not earth’s accommodating girth,
despite its gross distension and pretension,
inspire us, leading us as Jews to find
in it the groundwork for uplifting thoughts
more elevated than what comes to mind
when contemplating heaven’s distant courts?
Our soil retains a density with which
the heavens won’t compete, and we can soar
far higher if we make the earth our niche
instead of an imaginary shore.
Although a man’s reach should exceed his grasp,
it is the earth’s girth man should try to clasp.
ב לֹא בַשָּׁמַיִם, הִוא: לֵאמֹר, מִי יַעֲלֶה-לָּנוּ הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וְיִקָּחֶהָ לָּנוּ, וְיַשְׁמִעֵנוּ אֹתָהּ, וְנַעֲשֶׂנָּה.
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say: ‘Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?’
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say: ‘Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it?’
Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored “Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel.” He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.