In Wake of a Massacre (A Poem)
Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, in wake of the war in Israel:
It’s hard to write,
I postponed this for days,
How could I possibly relate,
How could I possibly express,
The pain,
The sadness,
The grief,
The anger,
The loss...
Where will the words come from,
Will I hurt someone?
How can I possibly find the good in this?
Non stop bloodshed,
More videos of killing,
Hostages,
Pictures of young children,
Boys, girls,
Teenagers,
Parents & grandparents,
Lives destroyed.
Friends of friends,
It feels so close to home,
Checking in with family,
Friends,
Loved ones,
Making sure they’re okay,
Offering support,
Praying,
Rallying,
Donating,
Doing anything we can do,
But the lives will not come back...
Hoards of duffle bags show up to the airport,
Supplies for soldiers, civilians, friends and family,
In Los Angeles, New York, Tel Aviv, Miami,
Like one heart, one soul, everyone is chipping in,
It’s fighting darkness with light...
As King David once wrote “I set my eyes on the mountains, from where will come my salvation?”
This is what we are all asking as we look to the heavens,
Praying for this nightmare to be finally over,
But the news tells us it’s only beginning,
A Great War, possibly WWIII, or Gog uMagog, who knows…
300,000 reserves called in, and it’s just the beginning,
And we are still the David against multiple Goliaths,
And all we ask for is to live, in peace,
Confused, bewildered, and lost are the foes of social media politics,
Typing angrily, arguing...
But these days I don’t have the time or patience for it,
I leave myself out of it,
This time, let someone else do the talking,
I don’t have the strength,
We know who’s right when hundreds of innocent unarmed people are brutally massacred,
But somehow the falsehood remains,
The evil somehow finds its footing,
And a home base to rally support from...
I don’t see the politics in this fight though,
I see the lives of people I love, uprooted and changed for ever,
I see the loss and despair,
I see the god but I don’t understand...
How could this have happened?
Baruch Dayan HaEmet, blessed be he, the judge of truth,
In the face of tragedy we turn to god and recount that he is the ultimate judge,
Of cause and effect, and somehow, through it all the outcome will be good, for everyone effected,
But how? And what about the lost lives?
We need redemption to answer this question...
As we cross over into a new month,
We ask hashem for this to be the end,
The end of all suffering,
The end of all pain,
The end of all bloodshed and the beginning of a new,
We ask for redemption,
We ask for life,
We ask for forgiveness, and start a new...
In these times of high emotions,
We need to channel them for good,
Take the anger, the pain, the sadness,
Harness the energy and make a commitment...
To do something in honor of the lives lost,
To do something for the sick and the needy,
To do something for the soldiers going out to fight,
To do something for the unity among friends who are home,
To do some acts of kindness to make the world a better place,
To say a short prayer with your eyes closed before you go to sleep, and think of your family, your nation, your seven million loved ones who are in the face of terror...
May hashem guard and protect us,
And all together the 15 million here on earth,
Our census could be off but we’re all connected,
We are like one man, with one heart...
Shema Yisrael,
We all remember, the Passover sader,
Year after year, we say the same,
As we end off the night with the last glass of wine,
L’Shana Habah B’Yerushalayim,
Next year in Jerusalem,
Let this be the year,
Let this be the year that we eliminate all evil,
That we show hashem we are united as one,
That we stand up in the face of challenges, and overcome what stands in our way,
And may we greet Moshiach with anticipation and joy,
And our loved ones come back soon in our days,
May this war be the final stance against evil in our world,
And the beginning of a new era,
Of peace, love, unity and revelation.
Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu, V’Al Kulam.
Joseph Rothvogel
