In the morning liturgy, we express gratitude for consciousness and life (Birchot Hashachar), for the workings of the body (Asher Yatzar) and the Divine origins of our souls (Elohai N’shamah), and we begin each day (indeed, every moment) as if for the first time. This poem by the Ukranian born Israeli poet, Natan Yonaton, reflects this wondrous spirit.
“Again we begin anew, as all begin;
The plougher, the collector, the poet,
The falling leaves on the wind,
The pearls of dew
And the returning wave to the sloping shores.
Again we begin anew, as all begin;
We’ll sing the song with the same words
Which never tire, as the waves
That endlessly return
To the vast sea
To the sandy, sloping shores.”
Taken from “Again We Begin Anew” by Natan Yonatan (1923-2004), translation by Rabbi Maya Leibovich
