In an intriguing episode,
The widow Tamar carried out
A plan, brash and bold;
On the outskirts of town,
Sat at the crossroad,
She would never wed Sheilah,
But his father showed.
Three months later,
Accusers secerned,
A priest’s daughter played the harlot,
They condemned her to burn.
One last word spoken
On her own behalf:
“Recognize, if you will,
This ring, cloak, and staff.”
The execution was halted,
The pledge verified,
The lion rose up, saying,
“She is more righteous than I.”
Tamar knew the danger
Of the plan she’d advanced,
But the claim, as her right,
Couldn’t be left to chance.
Some run from trouble,
Accept things as they are;
Others move towards the fire,
Raising the bar.
One article of pledge
Given by the King
Is the staff of Jewish exile,
Two thousand years of wandering;
The Holy Land promised,
To our people, since ancient times,
Convenient for some agendas,
To be kept “Judenrein.”
Demolished this week,
Two yishuvim
Their shuls and homes dashed,
But not their dream
In pieces, Geulah Tzion and Ramat Migron,
Young families, in the freezing rain
Chilled to the bone.
Defenders of the pledge
Of Israel’s destiny,
Despite another onslaught
Of police brutality;
Female cops beat women settlers,
Male cops beat the men,
They’d never strike an Arab
Kid gloves are worn for them.
On the outskirts of world opinion
At history’s crossroads you sit,
Portrayed as no more than
Losers and misfits;
Re-build one-room shuls and homes
That will soon again be razed;
But, your faith cannot be bulldozed,
Your resolve is unfazed.
Israel is the cornerstone
On which the world is built,
Injustice emanating from her
Puts everything on tilt;
The world now, in a whirlpool,
A noxious, sinking ship,
But, one last straw,
One day,
Will cause the scales to tip;
The lowly will succeed,
Those now ensconced in power
Who give Israel’s land
To her enemies
In a precarious hour.
Till then, may HaKadosh Baruch Hu
Strengthen the brave,
You, who take on trouble
May He rescue and save;
Those who move towards the fire,
Willing to take a stand,
As Tamar, who loved our nation,
And you, who love our Holy Land.
By Sharon Marcus