These are the accounts…
Let me give you an account
(Though it is not a bank account
It is an account you can bank on)
Of a people, individuals who were
Accounted for.
An account, an open account, of an
Oasis in the desert, a home made with
Mundane material but of a Divine nature,
A resting place big enough to contain a
World; small enough to contain a cry.
It is the most awesome of feats, creating
Spirit out of matter, it is perhaps the greatest
Accomplishment of all. But like anything
Great it is made with – and of – the finest detail.
Small things:
Seemingly insignificant things,
Things that may not hold press conferences
Or precedent; things that may not make headlines
Or bottom lines. Things like hooks, shekels, copper,
Skins, stones, colors, carpentry, angles, measurements:
Different shapes and different sizes –
Individuals
It takes many individual efforts to break common ground
Or fix an uncommon world
To see the bigger picture you have to focus the smallest pixels
Ability & Accountability:
We have the ability, the ability to do our little part;
So we are accountable, accountable to the One
That counts most.
Don’t dwell on it –
Dwell in it
Don’t dwell on the challenges –
Dwell in the moment
And let the moment dwell in you.
The dwelling is built:
It is time to begin, time to end –
To end one journey and begin another.
Of beginnings and ends:
And these are the names of the Children of Israel
Who came to Egypt…
…And a fire will be in it at night
Visible to the Children of Israel throughout all their journeys
There is a structure that takes us way beyond structure, a dwelling
Place that dwells within every one of us – and a fire will be in it
Even in the darkest night, in the coldest wilderness,
Through forty-two journeys and a million ups and downs,
No matter where life takes us or where we take it,
The fire will be in it, will burn, and light our
Journey.
We have come from afar
We are going further yet.
It may be the end of Exodus
But it is only the beginning of our journey.
Be strong! Be strong! And may we be strengthened!
Chazak Chazak V’nitchazek
Mendel Jacobson is a writer, poet and journalist living in Brooklyn. His weekly poetry can be seen at jakeyology.blogspot.com
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.