Category Archives: Poetry

Naming the Angel

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

At the end of a night-long struggle, Jacob earned a new name from his assailant—Israel, the one who prevailed over God. In return, Jacob asked:  Please tell me your name.  And he replied:  Why do you ask my name? (Genesis … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Midrash, Names, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 2 Comments

A God Who Takes Place

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran (Genesis 28:10).  The landscape is a blur as Jacob makes his escape from his vengeful brother, Esau. But Jacob’s headlong flight stills at a certain place, at the place: And he came … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 1 Comment

Isaac’s Blindness, As the Story Is Told

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

When Isaac was old, his eyes grew too dim to see (Genesis 27:1). Isaac’s blindness—the first infirmity mentioned in Scripture—sets the stage for deception and for two brothers’ struggle over a birthright and a blessing.  For one ancient sage, Isaac’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Midrash, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | 5 Comments

Facing and Losing Face

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

An old hobbled woman a beggar in the street was drinking tea in a paved courtyard in the shade of the oak. It was wondrous to me how she could break free from the terrors of a cursed fate to … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry, Talmud | Leave a comment

Taking A Stand That Does Not Trample

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

From the place where we are right there will never sprout flowers in the spring The place where we are right is trampled and hard like a courtyard… The poet, Yehuda Amichai, picks up a theme both modern and ancient:  … Continue reading →

Posted in Mishnah, Poetry | 1 Comment

Abraham, the Son: The Image Maker and Image Breaker

Posted on October 12, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

There is an ancient story about Abraham smashing all the idols in his father’s shop to prove that the idols were only statues, not gods.  As a child, I always thought that this story was in the Torah, so often … Continue reading →

Posted in Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry, Torah | 1 Comment

Noah’s Flood: Outer Landscape and Inner World

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

An ancient sage and a modern poet, each named Yehuda, give different life to the images of the biblical flood story. The terrain of the flooded world reminded the 4th century sage, Rabbi Yehuda ben Simon, of Psalm 36:7:  Your … Continue reading →

Posted in Memory, Parshat HaShavuah, Poetry | Leave a comment

The Art of Blessing

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

I am not sentimental about old men mumbling the Hebrew by rote with no more feeling than one says gesundheit. Poet, Marge Piercy, is impatient with the ancient formula of beracha/blessing.  Certainly, formulas fall short of the evocative blessings that … Continue reading →

Posted in Blessing, Poetry | Leave a comment

The Lord Is Your Shadow

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

Here is a paraphrased teaching of the Sefat Emet from Sukkot 5650/1889: The holy Zohar calls the Sukkah, “the shadow of the Faithful One,” a term that can be explained in this way: that holiness is the shadow cast in … Continue reading →

Posted in Holidays, Poetry | Leave a comment

My Blindness and Jerusalem’s Limp

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Sicha, Continuing the Conversation

I and Jerusalem are like a blind man and a cripple. She sees for me Out to the Dead Sea, out to the end of days. While I hoist her on my shoulders And walk blind in my darkness below. … Continue reading →

Posted in Jerusalem, Poetry | Leave a comment