This poem was written for the dedication of a new TorahThe Five Books of Moses, and the foundation of all of Jewish life and lore. The Torah is considered the heart and soul of the Jewish people, and study of the Torah is a high mitzvah. The Torah itself a scroll that is hand lettered on parchment, elaborately dressed and decorated, and stored in a decorative ark. It is chanted aloud on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat, according to a yearly cycle. Sometimes "Torah" is used as a colloquial term for Jewish learning and narrative in general. cover designed and woven by a member of a congregation.
It was there
under the mountain,
bits of parchment
and a river of ink and feathers
and crowns—a liquid fire
that burned my fingers.
We put stones in our pockets,
bones of mountains and earth,
tasting of thunder,
and we walked
through dust
and time.
You captured the blue
of sky and
cornflowers,
and wove them with the sun.
Ten thousand threads
and ten thousand more
together with bits of cloth;
It unfolded in
supple billows,
lifted by an updraft,
catching in the branches of a tree,
leaf-laden,
limned in light.
We left it where it lay:
A cloth of wondrous beauty,
A tree of life.
Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh
We sang
a song of praise
and binding
and joy.
