It's Holocaust Remembrance Day
I've flipped through my poems
and am led to share one today about the "apple of God's eye"
from my 2006 Israel pilgrimage
which included a visit to the breathtaking Mount of Olives...
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| Image credit: Getty Images |
THE WIND EXTINGUISHES OUR HAVDALAH CANDLE
AT THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
We gather to watch the sun go down
over the Mount of Olives—
The view, breathtaking in its splendor
O Jerusalem
The setting sun swathes
the Dome of the Rock
in an ebbing wash of burnished gold
as we huddle close together
It is cold. The wind whips us
this Saturday evening in November
as Sabbath closes in the Land
A blue and white Israeli flag
patterned after a prayer shawl
fades to a shadow
as it flaps heartily in the breeze
We sing Days of Elijah
Shalom, Shalom Jerusalem
The Shema
Rabbi Jonathan attempts to light
the Havdalah candle
but the wind is too gusty
and the flame keeps going out
He sounds the shofar over the city
prays the Aaronic Benediction
prays for the peace
of this turbulent city
named for peace
All the while
we are keenly mindful
that a day is coming
perhaps not very long from now
when Yeshua, our Messiah
will return to Earth—
to this very place
Hallelujah—
Hallelu-Yah!
Maude Carolan Pych
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