WHAT IS A JEWISH POEM? <br /> <br />What is a Jewish poem? <br />‘Shema’ is a Jewish poem <br />Perhaps the Jewish poem- <br />'Shmoneh Esreh' is comprised of Jewish poems <br />Nineteen prayers as one- <br />Our history is filled with Jewish poems- <br />From the beginning with Abraham and Sarah <br />Those who have given so much beyond our understanding - <br />Jewish poems everywhere - <br /> <br />Is each Jewish life a poem and a story also? <br />Or is it only those who give something to our people and history <br />Who are worthy of Poetry? <br /> <br />I have known many Jewish poems <br />People the great world will not know the names of <br />People who whether they walked humbly or not <br />Made the lives of others better in some way – <br /> <br />Kindness is perhaps the ultimate Jewish poem <br />And Justice also- <br />And Jewish poems are not without their contradictions – <br /> <br />As I write this poem in Jerusalem in the land of Israel <br />I think of the small Jewish world of Troy New York where I came from so many years ago <br />And miss so many people no longer of that and this world – <br /> <br />Longing for Israel for two thousand years was the Jewish poem <br />Living here now is a blessing and a gift <br />I thank God for.<br /><br />Shalom Freedman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/what-is-a-jewish-poem/
