A tale of cloak and dagger<\/p>\n
Mystery.<\/p>\n
Intrigue.<\/p>\n
Espionage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The working title: Life<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We are born for a reason<\/p>\n
(Most of us agree on that)<\/p>\n
But what reason?<\/p>\n
(Most of us disagree on that)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Let us say, for poetry\u2019s humble sake,<\/p>\n
That we are born to make a difference,<\/p>\n
To make of an obstacle an opportunity,<\/p>\n
To make of a dying nightmare a living<\/p>\n
Dream<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ah, but where is all the suspense, the high-<\/p>\n
Speed chases and low-light mysteries<\/p>\n
Promised by your title and opening<\/p>\n
Lines?<\/p>\n
Where is all the tension of black-and-white film?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s noir to be found!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Oh, but drama takes more than just a good script:<\/p>\n
It takes the development of character and purpose<\/p>\n
And this we have done \u2013<\/p>\n
Character: we the human<\/p>\n
Purpose: sanctifying earth<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What about Setting, you ask?<\/p>\n
Stage 1: the Desert<\/p>\n
Stage 2: the Promised Land<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where it gets interesting, intriguing:<\/p>\n
How to get from Desert to Promised Land,<\/p>\n
From obstacle to opportunity, from shadow<\/p>\n
Cold and gray to light shining and warm?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How, from the great concept of peace<\/p>\n
A simple, practical peacefulness?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Send forth for yourself men
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
And they will scout the Land
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Of Canaan which I give to the
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
Children of Israel<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A verse that seems to be averse<\/p>\n
To its very own logic: if G-d gives<\/i><\/p>\n
The Land to the people, independent<\/p>\n
Of their abilities or disabilities, why<\/p>\n
Then do the people need \u2013 and feel a<\/p>\n
Need \u2013 to scout the Land?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Would man rather recon the land<\/p>\n
Than reckon with the Divine?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Of renaissance and reconnaissance:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To enter a new reality, a land that<\/p>\n
Must be settled, is very unsettling:<\/p>\n
Imagine living an entire isolated<\/p>\n
Existence, where heavenly bread<\/p>\n
And splitting seas are the everyday<\/p>\n
Norm, and, one day, you are told<\/p>\n
That life is about to change \u2013<\/p>\n
Now on you\u2019re going to work for<\/p>\n
Your bread, no more using heaven<\/p>\n
As a crutch but, like a child reaching<\/p>\n
Adulthood, time to walk on your own<\/p>\n
Two feet\u2026<\/p>\n
Scary, is it not?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But who\u2019s afraid of scary?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Which I give to the Children of Israel<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Land of Israel, the holy potential<\/p>\n
And the potential for holiness, is a gift<\/p>\n
From G-d, whether or not we want it,<\/p>\n
Whether we wish to enter the Promised<\/p>\n
Land and embrace the possibilities or whether<\/p>\n
We\u2019d rather remain in the desert basking<\/p>\n
In our fiefdoms and boredoms\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Send forth for yourself men<\/i><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But a gift is not enough:<\/p>\n
To settle the Land, to do a good<\/p>\n
Deed, a mitzvah (for is not every mitzvah<\/p>\n
A form of settling the Land?) we must<\/p>\n
Know how, we must use our senses,<\/p>\n
Understand and feel what the Land<\/p>\n
Is all about, lest the potential of it<\/p>\n
Never be fully realized.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This tale of cloak and dagger<\/p>\n
Is not whether or not we can<\/i> enter the Land<\/p>\n
(That G-d has already established)<\/p>\n
But rather how<\/i> to enter the land, how<\/i> to make<\/p>\n
Of earth heaven \u2013<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Come upon the Promised Land \u2013<\/p>\n
Is anything standing in our way<\/p>\n
Besides our own selves?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n