inspired by Rabbi Sandra’s class, edited by my partner LeBron:
after 246 years of slavery
on june 19 it was proclaimed in galveston:
– all slaves are free –
but also:
– freedmen are advised to remain quietly –
after 400 years of slavery
on nissan 15 hashemLit. The Name, referring to the ineffable name of God; used as a substitute for any of the more sacred names of God when not speaking in prayer. Particularly used in conversation. split the sea
but not before ten deadly plagues
and nakhshon risking his life
one hundred and fifty eight years later
three thousand one hundred and seventeen years later
we are here
thank you hashemLit. The Name, referring to the ineffable name of God; used as a substitute for any of the more sacred names of God when not speaking in prayer. Particularly used in conversation. for making me free!
but are we free?
as audre said:
“i am not free while any woman is unfree,
even when her shackles are very different from my own.”
as talmudThe rabbinic compendium of lore and legend composed between 200 and 500 CE. Study of the Talmud is the focus of rabbinic scholarship. The Talmud has two versions, the main Babylonian version (Bavli) and the smaller Jerusalem version (Yerushalmi). It is written in Rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic. said:
“at a time when the community is suffering, no one should say,
‘i will go home, eat, drink, and be at peace with myself.’”
the freedom i found upon crossing that sea was incomplete.
i wandered three months to sinaiAccording to the Torah, God, in the presence of the Jewish people, gave Moses the Torah on Mount Sinai (Har Sinai). then forty years in the desert.
only to see my children to the promised land
land of freedom flowing with milk and honey.
our siblings are wandering their own desert today.
my ancestors wandered to eretz yisrael once, our siblings four times.
we celebrate each step toward liberation
every nissan 15, every June 19
and still we seek freedom.
each of us
may each of us
wade in the water like nakhshon
may each of us
reach the mountaintop
may each of us
learn what it is to do good
may each of us
devote our souls to justice
may each of us
aid the wronged
may each of us
remove the shackles of another
until there are no shackles left
until our stories have been quilted together
until we are all in the promised land
until we have build eden together
amen
