Black and White
Our lives are like the sea.
I understand this from a story
About Rabbi Akiva.
For when the strong waves come
You must know when to bend down.
Our lives are like the forest.
Even though we do not know
What will be tomorrow.
And our lives are also like the desert.
Because we sometimes see better
Like a black and white picture.
In the Synagogue
Today I went to the synagogue
And this brought my friends great joy.
My soul found refuge there,
It began to grow excited.
I sat there an hour or two
I felt like time was just another word,
I saw the flags of the twelve tribes of Israel
And I said: How good it is that my lot is with them!
The Song of Unity
Fly away, fly away prejudice.
Fly away, fly away unwanted fears.
Say “Yes” to love!
Say “Yes” to friendship and friendship!
Because when we love we do not see blemishes,
Because when we love we seek only good for each other,
We seek peace.
There is this friend and that friend.
The question is what connects us,
What is between us?
So let us come together and connect!
We need only to remember and loosen up a little.
And then we will find the love between us.
Israel through My Window
I awaken…
And as usual I make the coffee,
Look out the window.
And what do I see there?!
Behold! I see the land of Israel!
Beautiful, humble and wide open!
How much joy you cause my brothers and I!
We will watch over you – behaving properly,
And the Master of the Universe will keep His promise
That He made to our forefathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Israel.
I Have a Present for You
I have a present for you,
The birds’ love song,
That they dance to in the sky
And set an example for others,
As their love is eternal
And their nest is built with all their heart.
Let us learn from them and we won’t live
Lives of sadness,
Let us be like them
And then I will be with you forever.
To be a Jew
How hard it is to be a Jew,
It is not a simple matter!
But I, my friends, will not give in
I will not give up.
They say to you, Jewish Laws:
Don’t eat this,
Don’t drink that,
Don’t marry her,
Don’t speak like them.
You merited to be one of the Chosen People,
To be a light among the nations,
A soldier in the King of Kings’ army.
It falls upon you to give thanks for your lot
And to joyfully fulfill God’s commands.
Then your reward will not be delayed,
Because the One who rewards you is trustworthy.
How hard it is to be a Jew,
It’s not a simple matter.
But you, my friend, will not give in,
But you will not give up.
Loneliness
This loneliness is choking me terribly.
Where is my love? When is the day?
If I could only see you it would be such a celebration!
Then we would rejoice in our great fortune,
Then we would rejoice and celebrate.
However, with music
The loneliness is not so bad
And even death does not seem so terrible.
Let us live a life of fortune and joy
Every moment that the beloved music plays.
***
According to several Divine commandments
It is possible to see that He wishes
That we will remain childlike souls.
Look at Purim, Sukkot and Shavuot.
What could be more charming and beautiful
Than these!
On Purim, when we drink beyond measure
We become like babies
Who have no knowledge.
On Sukkot, when we see
The heavens between the branches,
We get excited every time anew
Like lads.
And on Shavuot, when we enjoy
Delicacies of dairy
Here too we are like little children.
Expectations of the Redemption
My ears ache,
It pains me to hear
What the media report
And how the people speak in the street.
I wish to fall asleep,
I wish to sink into slumber
And forget my troubles
That have been like wars.
To slumber and wait
Until the good news comes,
Until I am wakened by the sound
Of the Final Redemption.
Then we will go to drink from the well of knowledge,
To rejoice in peace
And enjoy the serenity,
To hear bird songs
In the beloved Land
And the Psalms of King David
In the Great Temple
In the Temple of the Almighty One.
A Brief Prayer
Behold, take my tears!
They will be the atonement
For my tired soul,
That traveled a difficult journey
Exhausted and weary,
Desiring rest,
It is bursting with difficulties.
Enough already!
I thought to myself.
Please, give us peace.
I Have Faith
I have faith in one God
And this gift is very dear to me.
It guards me from the evil path,
Strengthens me when hope seems lost.
Heaven and Earth, below and above
And everything in between them,
Everything is in His strong hands
And this is our belief.
Sail, sail my ship!
My ship of faith.
Take me far
On the face of pure water.
I will not fear hardship
Because I have my faith.
We thank you our God
For giving us our way
Of integrity and truth.
We will thank you for that forever!
A Night’s Journey
When I travel at night on the bus
I sit in the dark, alone in the back
My eyes escorting the kilometers that pass,
They are like the years that pass and do not return.
And then something seizes up in my throat
And the tears almost run down my face
And alongside them lights blink and signal from afar
As if promising that at the journey’s end
Things will be alright.
What Will You Take with You
The feeling of freedom
Is very dear to the young,
And moments of happiness
Tug so strongly.
But what will you find, my friend,
If you only follow them?
That excitement
Is like evaporating smoke.
And what will be your legacy?
What will you put in your pack,
What will you take with you on your journey,
Which, I believe,
will not be your last one…
To My Jewish Brother
You walk barefoot on hot sands,
Sit sometimes just so on the ground,
You wear blue jeans,
A black shirt.
You are someone special,
You have a unique soul.
Every one of us is a shining star,
A precious stone, a beautiful world.
In each of us
is a unique soul,
Mine is not like yours,
Yours is not like hers…
In Israel’s merit everything exists.
Precious Jew, listen to me,
Don’t degrade yourself.
Through the Holy Work you will succeed.
Every action has an effect.
The feeling of missing out on something is uncomfortable,
But it will give you integrity.
And I love to observe from the side
How God directs the world.
If only all of our plans
Would follow his plan.
Memories of a Rainy Night
This rain fell for our sake,
To quench the thirst of our tired souls,
It pounded on the roofs
And invited us to dance and rejoice.
I will never forget this night.
There I was, drenched and drunk with joy
With drops on my face
From the mischievous rain.
It made the streets shine
And everything sparkled,
It was like a sweet dream.
I miss it greatly.
A Short Legend
A chair stands here.
And what does it think?
“I want someone to sit on me,
To eat, drink and bless God.”
This is what the chair thinks,
This is what it craves.
A table stands here.
What does a table think?
“I want people to sit around me,
To learn Torah and bless God.”
This is what a table thinks,
This is what it craves.
Here a bed stands.
And what does it think?
“I want someone to sleep on me,
And restore their strength and serve God.”
This is what a bed thinks,
This is what it craves.
And so everything stands and declares:
“We wish to serve you our King!”
On Shabbat
On Shabbat
With a tallit or a white shirt,
Like angels,
Sons of the King of Kings.
On Shabbat
There is time to meet with friends
To learn the Torah,
To touch eternity…
To be warmed by the fire…
And in the synagogue
Joy and delight,
Dancing in a circle,
Singing songs of thanks.
On Shabbat our soul rejoices!
Shabbat is a taste of the World to Come..!
Happy with my Lot
Grandmother, I want to be a street sweeper!
To clean the streets
Of our Holy Land.
Soon, very soon
Everything will be clean.
Soon, very soon
I will be happy with my lot.
Grandmother, I want to be a gardener!
To prune the trees
Of our tiny Land.
Soon, very soon
The garden will be beautiful.
Soon, very soon
Grandmother, you will be proud of me!
Grandmother, I want to be a contractor!
To build the great Temple for God.
Soon, very soon
The Temple will be ready,
Soon, very soon
We can bring the sacrifice.
To Grandma
My Grandma!
You taught me to love!
How does your face always shine?
Your eyes, like two burning candles!
Your lips speak with compassion,
Your life is simple and righteous.
How fortunate I am to be your grandson!
On the River
When I was young
I loved to go to the river.
To watch the river flow,
To see the eddy and the algae.
It is mesmerizing, very magnetic.
To throw away
One’s troubles and worries beneath it
To feel inner peace and tranquility.
And when I stand on the bridge
So small compared to the entirety of creation
It appears to me,
As if there is no one else in the world.
And I am alone,
Simply alone.
***
Sometimes I feel happy!
I walk on this ground,
I speak this language,
Observe my God’s commandments!
Sometimes I feel happy!
I have many friends
Religious and not quite religious.
Ashkenazim and Sephardim.
They love me
And I love them.
We are happy in this friendship
Not to a small degree.
Sometimes I feel happy!
I speak this language
In which the Book of Books is written.
I speak this language
Which created the world.
Sometimes I feel happy!
Welcome Baby Boy
I saw through the window
A young mother
Pushing her little baby
In the stroller.
I blessed him in my heart and said:
Hello baby boy! Welcome!
Wherever you go,
Whatever you do,
Always be happy!
Baby boy!
Many surprises await you here,
Many challenges and tests.
Baby boy!
Be strong! Be successful!
In this world you are a guest…
Baby boy!
Be prepared
For all types of things,
Bad and good.
Make an effort
To always have a smile on your face.
Hello baby boy! Welcome!
And may success in this life
Never abandon you!
To Be a Soldier
To be a soldier is a great merit!
To guard your brother’s life
And our Holy Land.
Enemy beware!
The Chosen People
Is once more connected
And is ready to stand against you,
All with the help
Of the God
Who told Israel
You will be my nation for eternity!
***
I am not a devil,
I am not an angel,
I am, all things considered,
A man.
What do we do here,
If not Commandments?
What do we learn here,
If not Torah?
In our simple world
Whose foundation is:
Fire, wind, dust and water.
There is no idea…
No stray thought,
Everything is clear
Like a bright day
On the face of the Earth.
And we here live
Between the Heavens and Earth,
Living between birth date
And time of death.
And not like in a picture
Hanging on the wall
Where the moment
Is captured for eternity.
We have childhood,
We have adulthood,
Old age.
It is like a movie
With a happy ending,
Not a drama, not a comedy…
***
Thank you beloved entertainer and actor.
You lighten the hearts of the people.
You give joy, you give hope,
You teach us to identify with the world.
It doesn’t matter
If your role be hero or villain.
And the Prophet Elijah himself
Said your reward is great.
The World to Come awaits you from God.
A Good Lesson
One of the positive things
About the media
Is that at any moment
You can turn it off.
To sit awhile quietly,
To think about life
Or to guess what will happen to others
To think about how time passes
Quickly, without waiting for a moment.
I have one wise proverb.
I wish for you to learn it as well:
“The world is built of small things…”
It teaches me and also rebukes me
To watch carefully my behavior,
To guard my tongue
And even my modesty must be correct.
Take it, my friend, for yourself as well.
And then you will be guaranteed
That in the end
Embarrassment will not find you.
And Noah Found Favor
There is a house standing on cold ground.
There is water there, gas and electricity
Here it is pleasant to live.
It is all for you.
Because Noah has found favor in God’s eyes.
In this world it should be pleasant to live.
There is a telephone, a radio,
The Internet and more…
On the Internet you can speak with friends
Learn Torah over Skype.
The whole world is in the palm of your hand.
How amazing it is!
In this world it should be pleasant to live.
There are buses, trains,
Cars and more…
Maybe they will lay railroad tracks
Up to the Temple Mount
So it will be pleasant for the pilgrims
To bring a sacrifice.
Here it has become pleasant to live,
Here it has become pleasant to be.
It is all for you.
Because Noah has found favor in God’s eyes.
A Light unto the Nations
Our Father! Our God!
Be proud of your Nation!
For we have become the head and not the tail
With your help, our King.
In art and culture
Politics and science…
We are so charming!
We are so talented and successful!
A true light unto the nations!
Bringing sunshine into the city.
In the Desert
It happened at night,
I sat by the window.
The North Wind came
And whispered to me “Come.”
Then I got up, quickly,
Took drinking water
And excitedly I left home
To observe the view.
I found a small hill
It was the peak of a mountain,
I sat and looked.
And behold it was the desert!
I want to be like you
Clean, simple, strong.
You cause a person To be modest and humble.
By you one feels better
Who is the Master of the Universe.
I sat like this, thought
About the greatness of the Creator,
Until dusk came down
On the desolate desert.
Unanticipated
Our God is unanticipated
Therefore, my friend,
Be ready for a change.
With time I learned to be whole
With the idea that sometimes
Life doesn’t go the way we want.
And I try to remain
Calm and collected
Because I know in my heart
That everything is
Under God’s control.
If you have a trip today,
Don’t be so sure that
It will be completed successfully.
And if the forecast
Said it will be hot
Don’t be surprised
If suddenly it will rain or hail.
Because our God is unanticipated,
Therefore, my friend,
Be ready for a change.
And if in a war
A thousand beat a multitude,
Know that the hand of God
Was here.
And when the sick man
With no hope
Suddenly gets
A complete recovery,
Here too
Your soul should be calm.
Because besides the fact that
Our God is unanticipated
He is also merciful
And from him comes salvation.
***
Tomorrow everything is possible.
War or peace…
Health or illness…
Tomorrow is unclear,
Tomorrow is clouded in mystery.
Therefore my favorite word
Is “maybe.”
Sometimes I Want to Cry
Sometimes I want to cry
When I see all the doors closed
And the great gate,
Allows you neither to jump over nor pass through.
Sometimes I want to cry,
When the Heavens
Press down on my head
And the Sun is
Unseen the entire day.
Sometimes I want to cry,
When friends don’t
Appear for several days
And on the computer
There are no new messages.
Sometimes I want to cry,
When I see there is no
Peace between friends
And on Saturday night
I hear on the news
About an accident with
Several wounded.
Sometimes I want to cry.
And when I almost have
No strength to cry out
To Heaven,
There is only strength
To shed tears.
Then I begin to cry.
Like a Bird
To be like a bird,
To see everything from above,
To fly without boundaries,
To not worry about food and water.
To be like a bird,
High in the sky,
Close to God,
Close to Paradise.
To be like a bird,
To fly with the wind and against it.
To be free from the prison,
That is sometimes found in the mind.
The Hope
Tomorrow is a new day!
Tomorrow I hope
That everything will be okay.
Even though today was tough
Tomorrow I hope will be okay.
A little bit confusing,
A little bit of agony,
A little struggle with the Evil Inclination.
Even though today was tough,
Tomorrow I hope will be okay.
I went out once to meet
Shmuel, my good friend.
He too suffers from the same problems.
But Shmuel is strong in his belief.
He will succeed in vanquishing
All of the above problems.
I heard today on the news,
There were some wars,
Some arguments, some accidents.
Today was difficult
Not just for me.
But tomorrow is a new day.
Tomorrow I hope
That everything will be okay.
Song of Encouragement
Gray days, go away
Quickly, quickly!
Gray days,
I am already getting tired.
When will the sun come out,
When will the light come.
Then everything will be alright,
Then there will be peace.
Spring
Spring…
In the window it is the month of Iyar.
Birds sing songs,
Songs of love.
So do the trees,
So does the grass, even the rivers sing.
Again in the breast it awakens…
So does hope, so does faith, they no longer sleep.
The time to love has arrived,
The time to be happy has arrived.
Spring has returned,
And again there is no rest…
A Dream of a Wedding
You know,
Today I dreamed of a wedding!
Under the skies our wedding canopy was spread,
Many relatives and friends came.
Some will bless God
And others will answer “Amen!”
And I dreamed about our life too,
That will be peaceful and happy.
And about our children,
Whose rejoicing could be heard in our spacious home.
Me and you
We will be like two friends, close and dear.
Until old age we will be happy in our love!
This I dreamed.
To Be Whole
To be a son of the King
Is a great responsibility.
How in this tiny body
Can there be such an enormous soul!
To conquer one’s nature
To reveal the eternal part that is within you.
Sometimes it is top to bottom.
Sometimes it is bottom to top.
I recognize this principle