My attempt at Spoken Word. Written. Whatever...

So I was invited to represent the Jewish community of Lawrenceville at a local diversity day a few years back. I chose to "perform" a spoken word style poem and include the 7 universal commandments for all people.

I'm sharing this poem now because at a time like this, when people are getting the gist that we are really not in control of much, if anything, we are looking for something bigger - a higher power? - to connect with and use as our guidance.

Funny enough, this was provided to us a few millennia ago when, after the destruction of mankind,  save for a few people, Noah was told by G-d what the moral standard of the "new" world should be. These are dubbed the "7 Noahide Laws" and they are the blueprint for moral behavior; this is what G-d expects from all people.

I hope you enjoy the poem and I ask that if it was in any way meaningful to you, pass it on... I think the world can use it (IMveryHO;)
(I changed a few details to make it more, well, universal...)

Hello fellow Humans!

So good to be here

And share

Time with you all

Whether

We’ve met

Or not yet

I’m glad we’re together

‘cuz from all walks of life

The different faces, and different places and different spaces and different races

And maybe from other planets

We land

And perhaps with our family

We take responsibility

We build community

And create possibility

And

So here we stand.

And though I am I and you are you

We are each individual –

That’s all good and well

Because if I am not for me

Then who will be?

Asks the Elder Hillel

But

If I am only for me

And I cannot see

That multiplicity and variety

Are a recipe

For success

Then I missed the point…

So let me stress

That it’s our ability

To embrace, not erase

Our diversity

That brings us to a better place

So, while I am a Jew

And I preach and I teach

The 7 Noachide laws to all mankind:

·        In ONE G-d you shall believe

·        Only to bless, G-d’s name you shall retrieve

·        A judge in a court you shall not deceive

·        All living creatures in peace you shall leave

·        Your fellow man’s possessions you shall not thieve

·        Your fellow man’s murder, G-d says, I will grieve

·        To only ONE spouse at a time you shall cleave

All this you can achieve

And do

But now I ask:

Who are you?

Are you my neighbor?

Who I see when I walk

Or the one whose dogs always bark

Are you the mother with whom I talk

When we meet in a park?

Are you my doctor? My lawyer? The mail carrier? The dentist? The crossing guard? The clergyman? The cashier?

Do you live at the beginning of the block or the end?

Are you old? Are you young? Are you tall are you short? Are you a woman? A man?

Does it matter?

I think not

I think I’d consider you my friend

In this melting pot

Of cultures, religions and nations

Backgrounds, values, educations

Languages, inflections, pronunciations

People

Human beings

Coming together and sharing one earth

As G-d must intend…

OPEN LETTER TO ALL JEWISH FOOD COMPANIES

Dear Producers of Jewish Food Items,

Firstly, I'd like express a heartfelt Thank You! for the many wonderful foods that are available to Kosher consumers around the world. The variety of Kosher products is astounding, something not to be taken for granted. 

I'd like to bring a matter to your attention that has been bothering me for quite some time:
It is often very difficult, if not virtually impossible, to open a sealed product without ripping letters. Those who are familiar with the laws of Shabbos will know that this is, in fact, not permitted to do. One may open the package without causing any of the letters to tear. (The laws are more extensive than this simplified version, however, for the purposes of this letter, it is not necessary to go into them. For more information you can click the link below:
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/484233/jewish/Am-I-allowed-to-rip-something.htm

I have to admit, I feel like a surgeon each time I go through the process of using the edge of a knife to cut through at just the right places so as not to tear the letters. Sometimes I succeed and sigh in relief but often I botch the operation and kill my patience...

As a company that caters to Jews, who presumably would be opening packaging on Shabbos, wouldn't it be prudent to pay attention to this matter? You may say, "It's the consumer's duty to open all wrapping before Shabbos to avoid this problem" and you may be correct. But let's be practical: many people do not have the habit of opening all their food products that they may want to eat before Shabbos. So now what? Am I doomed to eating non-dairy frozen dessert sandwiches half melted because it took me 10 minutes just to open the wrapper very carefully...?

As a concerned Jew trying my best to keep the laws of Shabbos, I hope you will consider my words and choose to make positive changes.

Respectfully,

Shabbos Jew

THE FALSE RIVER

There is a concept in Jewish law which states that a river or lake in which the water could dry out cannot be used for ritual purity. Since the river does not always contain the water, it is considered to be a “false river”. In a deeper sense, this can be a metaphor for our lives. Sometimes we get inspired by someone or something and we want to use this inspiration as a catalyst for change but somehow it doesn’t take hold. In such a case, I ask myself, was it ever real to begin with?...  This concept is what inspired the poem “The False River”.

I know a river

In the mountains somewhere high

At times it flows with water

Sometimes it runs dry

It is a false river

I’ve heard some natives say

Its waters not relied upon

Like sun which lights our day

I’ve visited this river

The one they say’s misleading

I’ve seen its waters gushing forth

With no hopes of receding

I noticed the intensity

I listened to its roar

That reality of being

Seemed to be its core

Is it just illusion?

I pondered the thought

If it’s here this moment, gone the next

Is it real or naught?

What is the truth

Of a river so fickle?

One day a rush

One day a trickle

I could not imagine

Nor fathom the notion

That one day it could dry

With complete cease of motion

Yet one day I found myself

At the river bank

I was dismayed by the sight

My heart all but sank

Where was the spirit?

The cascade? The rush?

Where was the water?

Let alone the rush…

What had just seemed

So grounded, so true

Suddenly made me question

Everything I knew

If yesterday my passions

Were fueled by inspiration

Today I’m not at all convinced

They’re authentic aspirations

Then what is real and what is fake

How can I define?

Is there a gap between them?

Or only a thin line…

I turned my eyes heavenward

I pleaded with my G-d

I need to know, I need to feel!

I need a gentle prod

Please, I begged, direct me

Show me how it lasts

Point me to the path of truth

I need to get there fast

I looked back down

At the river bed

To the meandering emptiness

And down the path it led

I gazed into the sunlight

Dipped behind the trees

I saw the splendid sunset

And my soul felt more at ease

I knew the sun would rise again

And in my heart and mind

I knew that if I searched in depth

The truth is there to find