A 'Septolet' I whine about caffeine withdrawal. Ukrainian Jews fast for Yom Kippur on the front. Septolet? The Septolet is a poem consisting of seven lines containing fourteen words with a break anywhere in between the two parts. Both parts deal with the same thought and create a picture.
A haibun The Jewish New Year always comes in the autumn. I've always taken this for granted; but, this year, this month, this week, today, suddenly, it strikes me that this is counterintuitive. Spring is the season of growth and rebirth, is it not, whereas autumn leads to deadness? Lightning hits; air crackles; a thought… Continue reading Intro, or: Retrospective
At sunset tonight, the Jewish New Year begins; it ends at sunset two days later. As such, I will not be blogging for ~49 hours, and I will have to play 'catch up' with my online poetry community on Tuesday night. (Of course, I will schedule some blog posts in advance of the holiday.) Honestly,… Continue reading Happy Jewish New Year
Sukkot The Jewish autumn festival of Sukkot, known by some Christians as the Festival of Booths, is upon us. It begins at sunset tomorrow night, and preparations are already underway among those of us who live our lives according to our people's ancient traditions. Our preparations primarily include constructing outdoor booths (Hebrew: sukkah - singular,… Continue reading The Festival of Booths
An American sentence Hauling heavy loads in Jerusalem's heat before fasting? Mistake. What's an 'American Sentence'? Allen Ginsberg, inventor of the American Sentence, felt that the haiku didnโt work as well in English. Ginsberg decided to remove the line structure of the haiku, maintaining the requirement of 17 syllables total. He felt that removing the… Continue reading Unavoidable, or: Premonition
My 1st rondelet Rosh HaShanah[1] Is always a new beginning; Rosh HaShanah Is when Jews eat sweet, round challah[2] ~ Worship: the Creator hymning ~ Commit: themselves to no sinning ~ Rosh HaShanah P.S. This post was scheduled in advance because I am offline for two days (between sunset on Monday and sunset on Wednesday)… Continue reading Pomegranates, or: Apples
A triolet Every year we mark the same holidays. It's hard to make something new of the old, As the prep's whipping us into a craze. Every year we mark the same holidays, And God reads through all the Jews' dossiers To decide how their lives should unfold... Every year we mark the same holidays… Continue reading Death, or: Life
Warning: This is a kvetchy post Kvetch /kษหveCH, kfeCH/ INFORMAL โข NORTH AMERICAN noun: kvetch; plural noun: kvetches a person who complains a great deal"She emerges as something of a kvetch, constantly nagging Rick."a complaint"'They don't make 'em like they used to' has become an all-purpose kvetch." verb: kvetch; 3rd person present: kvetches; past tense: kvetched; past participle: kvetched; gerund or present participle: kvetching ORIGIN Middle High… Continue reading What’s worse than Shabbat? Double Shabbat!
The Skeptic's Kaddish ๐ฎ๐ฑ 
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