L'Shanah Tovah!
Image credit: bethmessiahsynagogue.com
AS THE FALL
HOLIDAYS APPROACH
I reach for my sweater against the chill
The crickets are chittering
Sunflowers have shed their golden petals
and a few green tomatoes remain
abandoned on the vines
It’s September—
the High Holy Days are approaching
Soon I will gather with michpocah
in the parking lot outside Beth Israel
We will observe Rosh Hoshanna
Rabbi Jonathan will sound
his kudu shofar beneath the full moon—
Tekiah—Shevarim—Teruah—Tekiah Gedolah
Sages tell us the first day of the month of Tishri
is the day God created the world
the world He so loved
the world He gave His only Son to save
The trumpeting reminds me
to reflect upon my relationship
with this God of my salvation
reminds me, humbly, to prepare for Yom Kippur
So I ponder the Day of Atonement
ponder the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies
sprinkling the blood of the sacrifice upon the Mercy Seat
ponder the sacrificed goat and the scapegoat
ponder forgiveness
ponder my sins, atoned for by Yeshua
ponder my High Priest, the Perfect Sacrifice
Who offered His Very Own Blood
on my behalf
Next will be Sukkot
the Feast of Tabernacles—
From inside a leafy sukkah
I’ll be reminded of the sojourn of God’s people
to the Promised Land
reminded of my very own sojourn
toward God’s promise—
eternal life with Him
in Heaven
Maude Carolan Pych
"Behold the Lamb...poetically!"
by Maude Carolan Pych
is available online
at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble
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