Sunday, June 4, 2017

Jubilee of the Reunification of Israel

A Modern Day Miracle...

Photo credit: breakingisraelnews.com

THE REUNIFICATION OF ISRAEL…JUBILEE!

I can almost hear the shofar’s wail
cutting through cries and cheers
that miraculous morning, fifty years ago
as the paratroopers
breached the Lion’s Gate
and Colonel Motta Gur exclaimed—

The Temple Mount is in our hands!
The Temple Mount is in our hands!

It was then Rabbi Goren prayed the Shehecheyanu[1]
He lifted the ram’s horn to his quivering lips
and blew

The sound resonated at the Western Wall
a sound, profoundly unforgettable
like the mighty voice of God

At that moment
the Jewish nation
by God’s orchestration
found itself victorious
in the face of astonishing odds
and the divided city became reunified

It was June 7, 1967—
Day Three of the Six Day War
when greatly outnumbered, the Jews
defeated the combined forces
of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan

Israelis soon flocked to pray at the Wall
for the first time in more than 2000 years
Christian holy sites were opened to Christians
and Muslim sites to Muslims

Now is the Jubilee! Hallelujah!
There is jubilation
in the streets of Yerushalayim[2]

and paeans of praise
rising up, up, up, like incense
before the throne of God

Maude Carolan Pych



[1] The Shehecheyanu blessing is a common Jewish prayer of thanks, said to celebrate special occasions.
[2] Yerushalayim is Hebrew for Jerusalem.

5 comments:

  1. Stunning. I get chills every time I read it. Praise God!

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  2. Stunning. I get chills every time I read it. Praise God!

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    Replies
    1. Barbara, I had some trouble replying. See my full reply to your comment below. God bless you!

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  3. Thank you for commenting, Barbara. I'm so happy that our writers group (NJCWG) took the time to critique this new and timely poem on Saturday. I was given some good suggestions that served to improve it. We have such a good group and receive great encouragement for our writing projects.

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