{"id":353,"date":"2026-02-10T20:16:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/?p=353"},"modified":"2026-02-12T16:20:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T16:20:43","slug":"little-shoulders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/little-shoulders\/","title":{"rendered":"Little Shoulders"},"content":{"rendered":"

A poem by Tanya Klein<\/em><\/p>\n

You’re walking to shul, l<\/span>ittle child of mine,<\/span><\/p>\n

Forlorn and defenseless, v<\/span>ulnerable, age nine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alone, without father, y<\/span>ou walk down the road,<\/span><\/p>\n

All I see are your shoulders, l<\/span>ittle shoulders, big load.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little shoulders that carry m<\/span>uch burden, much weight,<\/span><\/p>\n

Little shoulders, big burdens, w<\/span>ill your loneliness abate?<\/span><\/p>\n

I stand there and watch you, w<\/span>ondering who will receive,<\/span><\/p>\n

My child at the shul doorway, w<\/span>ill he have a reprieve?<\/span><\/p>\n

Will there be a kind man, a<\/span> sensitive soul,<\/span><\/p>\n

Who will look at your shoulders, s<\/span>houlders that reveal all?<\/span><\/p>\n

A person with insight, w<\/span>ith humanity, compassion,<\/span><\/p>\n

A Rachman ben Rachman, h<\/span>elping others his passion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Will you walk up to my child, h<\/span>is shoulders embrace,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Will you open his siddur, a<\/span>ssist in finding the place?<\/span><\/p>\n

Or will you elect to turn your shoulders away, <\/span><\/p>\n

From the sight of my child alone and astray?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I stood in my doorway o<\/span>n that balmy Friday night,<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching little shoulders w<\/span>alk out of my sight.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My child has grown now, h<\/span>is shoulders are broad,<\/span><\/p>\n

His shoulders are empty, <\/span>no tefilin straps hold.<\/span><\/p>\n

No tzitzis to warm them, t<\/span>hose shoulders I love,<\/span><\/p>\n

No tzitzis carress them, t<\/span>hey’re out in the cold.<\/span><\/p>\n

What happened in shul t<\/span>o my child I do not know,<\/span><\/p>\n

But you, my dear bretheren, h<\/span>ave a chance now to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little shoulders are walking, t<\/span>hey\u2019re all over town.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tiny little shoulders, a<\/span>nd head hanging down.<\/span><\/p>\n

They come into your shul, a<\/span>nd they sit down alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Little shoulders that need you, b<\/span>e staunch now, be strong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fellow Jews, dear kind brothers, p<\/span>lease heed this plea,<\/span><\/p>\n

And help little shoulders, l<\/span>ittle shoulders in need.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To sign up for the Kol Echad Limited Series E-Magazine, click here:\u00a0https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kolechademail\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A poem by Tanya Klein You’re walking to shul, little child of mine, Forlorn and defenseless, vulnerable, age nine. Alone, without father, you walk down the road, All I see are your shoulders, little shoulders, big load.   Little shoulders that carry much burden, much weight, Little shoulders, big burdens, will your loneliness abate? I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134185,"featured_media":356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personalities-and-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"\nLittle Shoulders - Kol Echad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/kol-echad\/little-shoulders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Little Shoulders - Kol Echad\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A poem by Tanya Klein You’re walking to shul, little child of mine, Forlorn and defenseless, vulnerable, age nine. 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