I’m a big fan of Rachel Barenblat, the Velveteen Rabbi. In February, I had a piece up from her 70 Faces: Torah Poems. (You can buy it through the publisher or through Amazon). The poems are tied to the weekly parashot (Torah readings) from the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
I’m a week late with this one; in the Torah cycle, we’re just starting Numbers this week and the poem below is tied to the last parasha from Leviticus. But it’s one of my favorites, so here it is.
Either/Or (Bechukotai)
If you will follow my laws,
and obey my commandments
I will grant you rain in its season
you will eat your fill
I will live in your midst
I will untie your tangles
Where there is rye bread
there will always be pastrami.
You and your mother will remain
on good terms, no matter what.
But if you do not obey
if you break my laws and spurn my rules
if you break my covenant
I will set my face against you
I will shatter your glory.
I will leave your boat becalmed.
You will never find
a good parking place again.
You will poison the skies
and your fields will not feed you.
I can be infinitely more hostile
than you, but I won’t be.
In the end you’ll realize
I was here all along,
waiting for you.
Thank you Hugo, as always, for liking the poem well enough to want to share it!