PAEN TO HOPE

Harav Y. Reuven Rubin Shlita

I am not many things, one of which is a Poet.  I have always felt that the ability of writing poems is too deep and emotional for me, besides proper grammar and all that just eludes me.  I vaguely remember having to learn a few poems as a child in school, and found them dense and difficult. They were written by ancient figures and spoke kind of funny. As I matured, I realized poetry was an art that flowed from the deepest recesses of the heart, after all, the world’s greatest poet was David Hamelech. So for me, it was just too daunting, all that rhyming of words and expressing deep feelings was a bit too much a challenge.

Then Covid19 locked my shul up and found me in isolation. As with everyone else, this has been a most challenging of times. When word came that we will soon be enabled to return to our shuls, a rush of emotions swept over me and, hold your hats, I wrote a poem. It isn’t all that good and doesn’t always rhyme, but it comes from the heart, and I tried my best. I offer it to you, my loyal readers, and hope you’ll not find it too soppy or immature. Please accept that this is offered with Shevach to the Eibishter, and hope you will find it worthy of your reading.

 

We’re going back to shul

Our heartbreak is almost over

I’ve dreamt whilst awake for this,

I feared it would never end

 

Hashem’s love has held me to its heart and wiped my tears of pain

And now we return with hope and prayer,

With blessings that have never before been uttered

 

I’ve bought a new tallis, laid my phone far away,

I’m coming back to my Tatte’s Home

I crave nothing else and promise never more to stray

 

Words have so little to say when your heartache has pressed for so long

But we spoke of tikun and Kiddush Hashem

And opened our hearts for all

 

I humbly beseech the Eibishter to let me learn from all this darkness.

Give us the wisdom to understand others and perhaps to find our own selves

 

I strain to understand what utensils Hashem wants me to employ

What tools to turn things for the better.

Which words will create the ambiance of hope,

That will make the tears become softer

 

But I will not turn aside from this task

Not after all the sadness

It will be for great purpose, we will grow and shine

We are Bnei Yisroel and gain faith from all time

 

The oceans of tears will wash up in Shomayim, the broken will find a yeshua

These will be the building blocks for the future,

one worthy of all we have prayed for

 

Nothing seen before can describe the constant drain of a world gone silent

We murmured to one another, with nothing to say,

Trusting in our sacred Tehillim as we davened

 

Alone, so alone yet bonded with all others

We found new strengths, lifted our hearts and bought courage to one another.

So we reenter the shuls, sight blinded by tears, and gaze at our humble grandeur

With resolve to do better, bring kedusha ever closer, and caress Hashem’s astounding splendour

 

It’s a beautiful day, don’t let it get away.

Hold its essence and take heart

We have come thru this challenge

And stand renewed

 

The future will speak of this time and place

 And wonder at our steadfastness

What we thought of just surviving will be seen for what it is

An heroic drive towards bringing us closer to Shomayim

 

And they will speak of that Dor, the one just before

That opened the gates for Moshiach’s ascension

And we will hold hands together, and dance in Jerusalem’s streets

With eyes filled with the wonder of the world of redemption