Jews for Jesus

In 2004, Steve, Janie-sue, Ben and Bekah Wertheim visited Germany together as a family to see where their family had come from…

Israel—
What will you be like when Messiah comes?
You, who have known no peace,
will you marvel at the silence where
no guns ring—
will you writhe beneath the yoke of
freedom you will bear—
will there be singing and laughing
as the prophets foretold—
Yes, Israel, you who have known war and
bondage will dance with laughter
when Messiah comes.

Trojan horse triumph of history
Innocence murdered to end tyranny
Living Word silenced without a remark
Sunlight extinguished to kindle a spark
Freedom sold to end slavery
Man fed to Death to set mankind free
Lamb bred for slaughter; Babe born to die
Devourer poisoned by Bread of Life.

Peering down at the burden she's enfolding
With timorous tenderness and love—
A mother now, a very young one—
Rejoicing that His will be done,
Almost afraid to breathe, to move,
For fear she may find it's a dream
she's holding.

A cool canopy stretches the rim of the earth,
-from the four corners
drive the four winds of heaven;
like caravans laden with splendor of Kings
they bear perfume,
clouds of spice
and weave them with
the Night in Jerusalem.
The hot afternoon has flown, the dusk
settles slowly,
-dying shades of daylight
stain the Western Wall;
like the smoke of incense here
once bloomed climbing Jacob's Ladder,
so the righteous
send up prayers
this Night in Jerusalem.
(so wakes the adder
so wakes the eagle.)
Peace beneath the sure eyes of the lion,
-tears of sorrow,
and of joy
still flow through your streets
forever mingled with the sweet wine
that drips from off the hills
warm and dark
like this Night in Jerusalem.
(so sleeps the adder,
so sleeps the eagle.)
oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

There was a voice burning in the desert.
A promise.
And today my people build tabernacles
in a foreign land
and glance through their roofs
at the stars,
dust in their faces, their beards,
their fists.
Where is Messiah? A stone of stumbling to my people.

Please enjoy a special post for National Poetry Month!

Selected Poems of Jehudah Halevi, edited by Heinrich Brody, translated by Nina Salaman. ?1924 and 1952 by The Jewish Publication Society of America: Philadelphia, pp. 192.

God was mourning over the dead, the persecuted, those whose minds were scrambled with the lust for power.

Without Jews there is no Jewish God.
If we leave this world
The light will go out in your tent.
Since Abraham knew you in a cloud,
You have burned in every Jewish face,
You have glowed in every Jewish eye,
And we made you in our image.
In each city, each land,
The Jewish God
Was also a stranger.
A broken Jewish head
Is a fragment of divinity.
We, your radiant vessel,
A palpable sign of your miracle.

So enough already, I don't want to hear. They say you've got answers, well, I just don't care.

Birth
I remember sitting on daddy's lap
my pretty one" he used to say
"give daddy a nice big kiss"
I'd smile, put my chubby arms
around his neck real tight
then plant a big messy kiss on his rough cheek
I remember the first day of
school, boy was I scared
we lined up in the schoolyard
I was the shortest so I stood in front
was everyone looking at the hole in my sweater?
I hoped not
I remember when mommy had a baby
It cried and cried all the time
but that was all right
after all,
hadn't it been locked in mommy's stomach
for a long time?
I remember Betsy
she was my very best friend
we did our homework together
and talked about things
like the time when we would be wearing lipstick
and going out on dates

Sometimes I believe that LOVE is a poem or a song.
Sometimes I think that LOVE is a physical experience.
Occasionally I feel that LOVE is an eco-socio-psycho-ethno-arrangement.
But most days I don't really believe there's actually such a thing as LOVE.

I was too modest to admit it publicly
But I knew I was God.

Not a Haman, a Pharoah or a Hitler
a holocaust
an inquisition
a pogrom
can prevent the hand of God from protecting His people Israel.