Norman Finkelstein’s powerful poem reflects on the mixed history commemorated by the Passover seder. The event that marked the beginning of the Israelites journey home was also a night of death.
Tag Archives: Judaism
Live in the Layers, Not on the Litter
In a perfect poem for Yom Kippur, Stanley Kunitz urges us to look through the litter and wreckage of our lives and see instead “the layers.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Layers", High Holy Days, Stanley Kunitz, Yom Kippur Comments closed
Waiting for the Messiah to Knock
Steven Schneider’s Hanukkah celebration occurs in a place the old patriarchs never could have imagined.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged festival of lights, Hanukkah, Schneider (Steven) Comments closed
Rich Reflects on Yom Kippur & Conflict
Adrienne Rich’s meditates on the meaning of Yom Kippur in light of America’s divisions and her own longing for solitude.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Prelude", "Yom Kippur 1984", Adrienne Rich, Robinson Jeffers, Walt Whitman, Yom Kippur Comments closed
The Journeys of the Night Survive
“Akiba” is a powerful Passover poem by Muriel Rukeyser that links the flight from Egypt to other liberation struggles.
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How Rosh Hashanah Is Like Swimming
Poet Enid Shomer describes Rosh Hashanah as a swimmer beginning on the surface but eventually sinking deep within the water/rituals.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Freestyle on the First of Tishri", Enid Shomer, Religion, Rosh Hashanah Comments closed
Out of Darkness, Sanctified into Being
Rashani’s poem captures the miracle of Yom Kippur by describing the unbroken arising out of brokenness.
A Night Different from All Other Nights
In celebration of the Jewish Passover, which begins Tuesday, I post this beloved poem by Primo Levi, written in 1982, which many people now incorporate into their seder rituals. Knowing that Levi was an Auschwitz survivor gives the poem a special poignancy.
