I am the Flame of Torah

  I am the flame

(Inspired by my experiences on NCSY Yarchie Kallah)

I am the flame

I am the flame which burns within each Jewish soul!

        I am the spark which when given fuel and air,

------------------blossoms into a flame which starts a blaze.  

    I am the spark which is lit at Yarchie Kallah.

I am the flame of Torah which consumes everything.---------

I am the inferno which overpowers all that confronts it.-------------------

I am the Hope

I am the hope 

(Inspired by Jewish history and HaTikvah)

I am the hope of two thousand years

I am the hope!
I am the hope that carried the Jewish people through troubled times---
through the trauma of the destruction of the temple.

I am the hope--- the hope for a return to our homeland.
I am the hope-- the hope for the continuation of the Jewish people.

I am the hope that was fulfilled with the return from Galut Bavel under Ezra and Nechemia.
I am the hope that sustained our people as roman troops sacked the Holy city!
I am the hope which has sustained our people for two thousand years!

I am the hope which grew stronger as our enemies stood upon us to destroy us.
i am the hope which drove the pioneers to begin reclaiming the land .
I am the hope which has sustained, sustained and will sustain our people!

I am the hope which despite the horrors of the ghetto, did yet live in our hearts.
i am the hope for a better future in which our children will no longer  face persecution.

I am the hope that inspired Jews to fight in the Warsaw ghetto.

I am the hope--- the hope of two thousand years.
I am the hope- the hope for a return to our land.

I am the hope;
the hope which drove the burned remnant of the shoah to flood the gates of the land of our fathers.

I am the hope, the hope which is not lost and will never be lost.

I am the hope; the hope which is passed on to our children as they journey to the land of our fathers.
I am the hope; the hope that Jews and Arabs will one day live in peace.
I am the hope; for a better tomorrow; a tomorrow free of terror, war and violence.

I am the hope; to be a free people in our land!
I am the hope which brings us closer to the days of the Messiah!
I am the hope; the hope for live in a world which will be fully redeemed!

I am the flame

I am the flame!

I am the flame which burns in every Jewish heart.

I am the flame which is kindled in the deepest recesses of the heart.

I am the flame which from a match is kindled and becomes a consuming blaze.

I am the flame which though it may flicker will never be extinguished.

I am the flame which throughout the ages has flickered in the wind of oppression.

I am the flame, which flickers despite attempts to extinguish it.

I am the flame which in the Ghetto burned for eight nights.

I am the flame which burned as a symbol of defiance in the face of oppression.

I am the flame, the flame of burning desire.

I am the desire for a world redeemed.

the middle east erupts in war

 This poem was inspired by the haftorah for shabbat chol ha'moed which describes the final war before the coming of the messiah. i used the text of the haftorah as a model and then added modern details. i used some songs from the play les mis for inspiration 

When the King, The Mashiach arrives

I saw the tanks roll along the road into the wilderness.
the soldiers went to their bases, and toward war went the soldiers.
to the ships and into battle went the sailors.
to their airbases, went the pilots, to the airbases to stand guard against an attack went the airmen.
to the airbases went the airmen- ready to sortie and strike the enemy.

to the hospitals went the medics and doctors to the hospitals to prepare for the flood of the wounded.
to the hospitals went the nurses to tend to the wounded and to the hospitals with the nurses went the soldiers to defend the wounded from attack.

To their targets flew the missiles, to their targets to prevent the enemy’s strike sped the missiles and to war went the troops who stand guard over the state of Israel- the first flowering of our redemption.

to war went the soldiers, sailors and airmen who stand guard over the state, the State of Israel.

to war went the soldiers, sailors and airmen who returned forever altered, damaged and scarred by the beast, by the beast which  consumes all; by the beast which damages, scars and mian; by the beast which is called war.
to war went the soldiers; the soldiers of the enemy; to destroy their enemy- and thus in war- soldiers head to war to defeat their perceived enemy.

to war went Hamas; to war went Hizbollah, to war went Fatah, to war went the remnants of al- Queda, and to war went the ones who seek to destroy the people of Israel; to war went Iran, to war went syria.

    as i walked through Tzfat, i could hear the people sing; singing a song of angry men, i could hear the music of a people who would not be attacked again. when the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drum; a new dawn will begin. In the streets, i heard the cries of “One Day More”; one day more till the geulah, we will destroy the enemies of israel, they will wet themselves with blood. and in the bomb shelters, i heard them singing about their dream; a dream for a day when the red glare of the rockets will be no more. i heard them sing, “I dreamed a dream in days of terror. when hope was  high yet life not worth living. i dreamed that Hashem would be forgiving. but the missiles come at night, with the the wail of the air raid sirens. with the sirens soft as thunder. as they tear your hope apart. as they turn your faith to doubt.”

and in Yerushaliyaim, they sang a different song. at the kotel, thousands gathered for selechos beseeching HaShem to protect and defend his firstborn nation from the red one; from the iranian threat.  and at the kotel, you could hear them singing, singing a song of angry men. when the fervor of your tefilot echoes the beating of the drums, there is a new day about to arrive. and at the kotel, you could hear the whispered prayer, the prayer from the depths of despair.

and at the military bases, a different song was sung. I believe with complete faith in the  coming of the Moshiach and even though he may tarry, i do still believe.  and as the order to deploy was heard, a song burst forth; a song of Maalot- I lift my eyes to the hills, from where shall my help come? My help shall come from Hashem, maker of heaven and earth. Behold, The guardian of Yisrael neither sleeps nor slumbers.