Confronting Silence – Tishah B’Av 5786
Word-less
to express
the horror
of destruction
the fathomless
abyss
we read words
ancient
repeated
for millennia:
Eicha?
How?
we read words
resisting
denying
the silence
that admonishes us
challenging
our incomprehension.
We listen to ourselves
chanting
words
that echo
in the silence
hoping
praying
for a response
that will assuage
the silence
transform
words
into meaning.
And so
we forget
again-and-again
that meaning is
wrought
is re-membered
in deeds
not in words
is held
in our hands
outstretched
reaching
for life.
Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah