Shabbat VI

The day of Unrest:
The holy army advances
And the double edged sword slays
The men and women and children in the street.
In the homes,
The sword brings death.
The city is ruined.

But don't give up hope.
Is this the sort of Sabbath I want?

All is forgiven.
This is the sort of Sabbath I want:
Loose the bonds of oppression,
Feed the unfed,
Stand for those who can't stand,
Release the widow and the orphan
And the prisoner in chains.

All is forgiven.
Herein is freedom.
Herein is rest.
Atonement, my grace, my love—
Today is the day!

Shabbat V

To remember Rahab
May be a noble and wise task.
The second Passover,
The second escape from sin,
The second red paint at the lintel—
Behold, in Israel, the day of rest.

It is now
Fourteen steps to the entrance,
Fifteen steps to the exit,
But by faith comes escape.
By escape it comes to salvation.
Rahab escaped—cursed is he who rebuilds the city.

And it was Ruth who
Ran to be redeemed
In the face of the brethren.
The harvest came and she was not torn;
She gleaned the corners instead,
The corner or her redeemer's garment.

It is now
Seven courses to the meal,
Forty-nine broken pieces of bread,
And the fiftieth is dipped in the bowl.
But it was forgotten
That the seventh course cleans the palate.

So it becomes that there is no escape from exile
Until every redemption has been paid.

Shabbat IV

I think the answer is freedom.
The one day we receive
To not do what we hate.
It is ours to own,
If only we'd have it.
Just like the kingdom of heaven,
If only we'd have it.

Shabbat III

Dritte, we have a movie of something sweet.
A celebration they had
In the early hours
Of their great victory.
The end of the age is at hand
The new age is upon us
And you should have seen them dancing in the streets.
They had banners and streamers
With big, bold words printed,
Telling the world of their Banner.
But the world didn't need to read,
Because the world was defeated.
They had won,
They had won,
And oh, you should have heard them singing!
It sounded like the cool mountain breeze,
The scent of sweet lilies blooming in spring.
And then the sight I must share,
The one that will stay with me forever,
Is when I watched them cheer and
Jump and rejoice
When their Lord came up from the garden.
And what made me weep for joy
Was when I saw him walk over to a girl
Who was lying on the ground,
Suffering from a poison arrow in her chest,
Taken in battle.
He knelt by her, pulled the arrow out,
And said, "Talitha, kum!"
And she rose.