The Eternal Jew

The Eternal Jew

byDov Ben Shlomo
I was there when Abraham argued for Sodom
I ached at the lash that bound Isaac to the alter
I struggled with the Angel that Jacob defeated
The Angel, who changed our name to Israel
I screamed as the blows of my brothers fell
And I was sold with Joseph, with his brothers, into slavery
An accident of disposition, position, revelation
Conflict Resolution.


I stood at the foot of Mount Sinai.
I waited with anticipation;
I saw the bush enflame.
Yet, I beheld it's preservation.
I was counted among the emancipated;
As I eagerly embraced the commanding Word.
An accident of chronology, history, legacy
Temporal Morphology.

I am a Jew
A Hopelessly, piously irreverent Jew
Standing in the face of death,
Affirming life.

I rejoiced when David captured Jerusalem
I sang at the building of the Temple
I wept by the rivers of Babylon
While I kept my faith,
my hope, burning.
I saw our return Home
And the rise of the Jewish Commonwealth
An Accident of emotion, connection, passion
Emotive Displacement

I stood helpless as Herod forsook his people
I was in ruins when the Temple fell
I died of hopelessness on the top of Mount Massada
Fearing for the future of my people.
I was banished from my home
Left to wander with each new expulsion
An accident of motility, mobility, futility
Compulsive Intransigence

I am a Jew
A lost, anchored and wandering Jew
Witnessing the slaughter
Bearing the Hope

I was at Buchenwald and Treblinka.
I witnessed the slaughter;
I saw the flames.
Still, I echo the cries of anguish
I am left to mourn their passing;
But, I remain to acclaim their existence.
An accident of geography, vicinity, locality
Empathetic Proximity.

I lived to see my homeland restored
I worked the land from dawn until dusk
I made the desert bloom
And, I stood watch as its existence was threatened
I beheld the miracles of Entebbe, Ethiopia, Russia
"The Temple Mount is in our hands! The Temple Mount is in our hands!"
A people restored to their future.
An accident of perseverance, persistence, resistance
Divine Devotion

I am a Jew
A stubborn, rigidly flexible Jew
Attesting to the brutality of humanity
Maintaining its Divinity.

I Believe
With Perfect Faith
In the Holiness of Humanity...
I Believe With Perfect Faith
In the Coming of the Mashiach ...
Even though he may tarry
I still Believe.


SHABBAT SHALOM!