My Trees

Trees are wonderful!

I love trees!

When I was a kid and had a birthday

Or did well in Hebrew School,

What did get?  A tree!

A tree was planted in Israel in my name,

What could be better?

What could be more ecological?

In the empty Negev,

They planted your Jewish tree. 

Screw the Nazis and plant a tree!

And you got a certificate

And imagined that someday when you went to Israel

You would look up your tree

And it would have your name on it.

But I grew up and

God forbid any of these trees

Planted on top of stolen Bedouin villages

In the not at all empty Negev

Have my name on them. 

These killer trees,

Planted in an ecology 

Where they don't belong,

Stealing water they shouldn't have

On land that isn't theirs.

I want my trees back!

I want to sell them

To buy some food for Gaza. 

And don’t shoot anyone 

When they try to pick it up.  

Amen

A Prayer That Insists on Hope

 

Blessed One-ness,

We hope. 

We struggle

And try to survive the onslaught 

Of the selfish and angry ones, 

Survive and look for ways to help. 

 

We hope that the despair lifts

And the objects of the bulllies

Outlast the cruelty, 

Survive and are repaired

As best we can. 

The fear is everywhere. 

Clearly the plan is

To wear us down

But this we know—

As individuals we will hurt. 

And we may suffer

And our hearts may break

And we may die, but

As a holy whole

We go on. 

Upon this we insist 

Always and forever:

We have hope. 

And we give thanks. 

Amen

A Prayer For The Pursuit of Happiness

As you enter Prospect Park  

On a hot summer’s day

There should be the usual 

Hazy wall of meaty smoke and music

From barbecues and parties

Annoying the gentry

As families without back yards

Party with their grills and birthday banners,

Feliz Cumpleanos!

But this year if you are brown,

Instead of the park

There is the Alligator Alcatraz 

And other money making concentration camps—

No beds, little food

No doctors, no hope. 

Renting out slaves

Destroying families,

Destroying fun.  

Death and Detention 

And the destruction of hope

Are offered in the place of

Life and Liberty 

And The Pursuit of Happiness. 

Shame upon us all.  

We must pray for the strength to defy evil,

It is this holiday’s tradition.

Happy Fourth of July!

Amen

Good Things (Benching Gomel)

 

I have a knowing

Of HaShleimut,

The holy Wholeness, 

Of which I am a part. 

I am always in  this connection 

And even when I am afraid

I can remember I am not alone

So I survive. 

Though I was sick

Now I am well. 

Though I was weak

Now I am strong. 

Though I was in danger

Now I am safe. 

Though I was afraid

Now I am secure.

Bless the Holy Wholeness 

That encompasses all good things!

I give thanks,

I give love.

Amen

It’s Here

 It’s here

It’s time

It’s now

Sorry but it is

No choice

Get ready 

Be smart

Prepare

Be safe

Protect the innocent

Defy the violence

Hurt no one

Take pictures 

Use your privilege 

Truth to power

Know your rights

Gird your loins 

Because it’s here. 

Amen

What We Witness

 

Blessed One-ness,

We are appalled and brokenhearted

At the horrors before us. 

Help us see it all without flinching:

Racist white supremacists 

Importing more of the same 

While sending brown people to concentration camps,

Banning books, 

Cutting off aid to the poor and elderly,

Firing anyone with expertise, 

Suppressing artists,

Hating honesty,

Punishing those who see the stupid,

Legislating women into baby making machines 

Not allowed to speak in public 

Without their botulin shots,  

Taking obvious payoffs,

Corrupting government without shame,

Exploiting the gullible,

Terrorizing trans people, 

Bullying the defenseless,

Forcing their religion on everyone else,

Using antisemitism to manipulate Jewish fear

And destroy free speech 

While raising the Nazi salute,

Ignoring due process, 

Despising the Constitution,

Imposing a police state. 

And what about the violence?

Who will die from neglect

And who from torture?

Blessed One-ness,

Bitterly, we weep in the night. 

The horrors go on and on,

It is so tempting to look away but

We are the witnesses and

It is upon us to face the horrors,

To say what we see,

Then to speak of the truth, 

For goodness, for grief, 

For justice, for tomorrow. 

So let us say,

Amen

The World Is On Fire

 

“To those who do not know the world is on fire, I have nothing to say. “ —Bertolt Brecht

How can I pray for peace?

The world is on fire. 

The vulgar new rulers,

Outraged at being told 

to share power with

The not white, the not Christian, 

The not men and the not rich,

Attack us all

With lies and no mercy

And revel in destruction and revenge.

Like five-year-old boys

And thirteen-year-old girls,

Wanting everyone else’s toys

And breaking them if they can’t,

Rejecting science,

Torturing the innocent,

Predictable and very boring

In their greed and corruption. 

I hate these guys, and

The heart boggles. 

I fight off despair, and wonder

How did we let this happen?

Surely it cannot be that

We must pray for peace with these mobsters,

I won’t!

Don’t be stupid. 

The world is on fire and

We must put it out.  

Amen

A Nice Shabbat Nap

 

A weekday nap is time stolen

From schedules and chores. 

Okay

But a temporary fix. 

A Shabbat nap, however, is a choice 

To fulfill an obligation to the

Holy

In the mitzvah of deep rest. 

You must set the alarm for the weekday nap

Nod off for a second then

Wake!

The day must continue. 

But the Shabbat nap has no end

You may sleep until you’re done. 

Enjoy

Your sweet and holy vacation. 

Blessed Mystery,

There are no worries for tomorrow

There are no regrets from last week

Only

This nice Shabbat nap.  

Amen

Make It So

 

“A poem cannot stop a bullet. A novel can't defuse a bomb. But we are not helpless. We can sing the truth and name the liars.”

~Salman Rushdie

May God bless you and protect you!

May God deal kindly and graciously with you!

May God shine God’s face upon you and grant you peace!

—The Priestly Blessings 

May God bless you and protect you!

Be a good person,

Sing the truth!

This life should be so beautiful. 

May God deal kindly and graciously with you!

Be a naughty child,

Name the liars!

Enjoy saying no. 

May God shine God’s face upon you and grant you peace! 

We are here in obligation and doubt,

We are not helpless!

We are not alone. 

Ken y’hi ratzon

We will be whole,

We must try!

Make it so.

Amen