Embedded Files
With Hyssop
With Hyssop
Poetic notes for the parashat Behaalotecha*
The passover sacrifice is above all in its time
and in its time again
Let Rabbi Hillel be your Nasi
When you recline by the river of life
you will remember all the laws of the Passover
Speak to the community
Not just to the community
To the entire community
the whole household of the community
The lamb will not be too small for the household
But the household may be too small for the lamb
If so, bring in the neighbour
Knesset Israel will slaughter it in the afternoon
The Temple will not be too large for Knesset Israel
But Knesset Israel may be too large for the Temple
If so, let them come in as camps
like a seven branched menorah
three branches to the left and three to the right
and the individual one in the middle
With hyssop and lamb’s blood
the household will be made one
The many attributes of Divine Service
will form one body
Now’a’days, however
the tree lies on its side
Roots and branches have intermingled
The nation is inorganic
And the individual is born or misborn
But if not now, when?
When is the sacrifice the Sabbath?
When the communal gives birth
to the individual on the 14th of Nisan
For the salvation of the child of Israel
is the salvation of the whole creation
And without the salvation
of the whole creation
the child of Israel is not saved
For there is no king without a kingdom
no flaming light without a lamp burning
The heart and soul of the kingdom is her king
Who can know the soul except through love?
What measure of love can know the soul of the king
whose soulful love and hyssop
raises up the children of his kingdom
from the north country
and gathers them
from the uttermost ends of the earth?
Who makes the blind to see with love
And the lame to be warriors of love
And the mothers of Israel give birth in every land
to be gathered up from there to one land
to reveal the mystery of the king’s soul everywhere
And everywhere he raises up the soul of his kingdom
Her honour and glory shall magnify his love
World of prayer without end, Amen
Holy love
May it come to me
Holy love
May it freely be
And May it sanctify this hour
*Being a meditation on a Torah class on parashah Behaalotecha, delivered by Rabbi Baitelman of ChaBaD Richmond, B.C., based on the series, Torah Studies, by Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Neither Rabbi Baitelman nor the JLI have reviewed or approved of the content of this post.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse