On Poetry
This weekend at senior camp I was torn between two topics: Israel and poetry. I solved the problem by combining the two topics. I printed out the poems I wrote in Israel. I read the Kinah and my two love poems about the kotel (they are about the kotel). I also read Roseanne Cash's Western Wall and my poem about her song.
I opened by reading from the DeSola Poole Siddur, which adapts Anim Zemirot into an English poem. I explained that I find metaphorical meaning in the way that we include but brush away Anim Zemirot. This is a deeply poetic kabalistic work, and we debate saying it and then have a kid "daven it up."
We run from the poetic essence of our tradition. But we'll never succeed in burying the truth of poetry's place in Judaism. It is in the Torah from the start till the end where it is explicitly referred to as a song. Of course there are specific songs throughout Tanach, including Shir HaShirim. And the rabbis through the generatons were poets. People would be less bored during Selichot week and on Tisha B'Av if they would come to terms with the prominence of poetry in Judaism.
An amazing thing happened on the way through the lecture - no less than three seniors came forward as poets. One man said he started writing poetry at seventy five and if he knew earlier that he could do that he's have lived his whole life differently (says he'd have become a professional poet). I was supposed to get copies of his work, but left the camp without that happening. He writes openly about the pain of growing old and of being the only Bush supporter in a poetry group filled with liberals. I'd like to post his work. Another guest writes about love, hope and repentance in a straightforward, beautiful way. A year ago at Yom Kippur time she was troubled about a falling out with a friend and wrote about it poetically, and since then it's been flowing. Each of these campers recited a poem during this talk. A Russian woman approached me afterwards and told me that she writes poetry regularly too.
One of the interns (who work cheap in exchange for room, board, and classes) told me that I should consider teaching Jewish poetry as that seems to be my passion. She said that many people don't know their passion and that given that do, why not go for it? Would I consider a degree in English? Maybe I should. I am more passionate about writing poetry than any English teacher in my school.
UUUPerhaps a poet
is who we were meant to be
UU,if not we then me
I opened by reading from the DeSola Poole Siddur, which adapts Anim Zemirot into an English poem. I explained that I find metaphorical meaning in the way that we include but brush away Anim Zemirot. This is a deeply poetic kabalistic work, and we debate saying it and then have a kid "daven it up."
We run from the poetic essence of our tradition. But we'll never succeed in burying the truth of poetry's place in Judaism. It is in the Torah from the start till the end where it is explicitly referred to as a song. Of course there are specific songs throughout Tanach, including Shir HaShirim. And the rabbis through the generatons were poets. People would be less bored during Selichot week and on Tisha B'Av if they would come to terms with the prominence of poetry in Judaism.
An amazing thing happened on the way through the lecture - no less than three seniors came forward as poets. One man said he started writing poetry at seventy five and if he knew earlier that he could do that he's have lived his whole life differently (says he'd have become a professional poet). I was supposed to get copies of his work, but left the camp without that happening. He writes openly about the pain of growing old and of being the only Bush supporter in a poetry group filled with liberals. I'd like to post his work. Another guest writes about love, hope and repentance in a straightforward, beautiful way. A year ago at Yom Kippur time she was troubled about a falling out with a friend and wrote about it poetically, and since then it's been flowing. Each of these campers recited a poem during this talk. A Russian woman approached me afterwards and told me that she writes poetry regularly too.
One of the interns (who work cheap in exchange for room, board, and classes) told me that I should consider teaching Jewish poetry as that seems to be my passion. She said that many people don't know their passion and that given that do, why not go for it? Would I consider a degree in English? Maybe I should. I am more passionate about writing poetry than any English teacher in my school.
UUUPerhaps a poet
is who we were meant to be
UU,if not we then me
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 3:28 PM
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