Praised Be Those Who Don't Believe the Tale

April 18, 2016

Dear Subscriber:

Each week we examine a theme from a variety of points of view. The theme for this week is faith and Jewish identity, in honor of Passover, which begins on the evening of April 23.

Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt, especially when the angel of God passed over the houses of the Jews when inflicting the final plague upon the Egyptians, the slaying of the first born. It is celebrated through a ritual dinner, the Seder, which includes a retelling of the story of the exodus, prayers, songs, and the consumption of symbolic foods.

Today’s poem is a Passover poem about the beauty of the ritual even for those who don’t believe in it.

I welcome comments on my poems at http://nicholasgordon.blogspot.com.

Yours,

Nick Gordon

Praised be those who don’t believe the tale,

Although they will recite it every year

So as to pass on rather than pass over

Symbols that retain their ancient power.

Old myths survive because they don’t go stale,

Vivid founding fables long held dear,

Epics binding epochs time would sever,

Restoring richness to each passing hour.

© by Nicholas Gordon

Hear or watch me recite this poem and listen to the music I chose for it at http://www.poemsforfree.com/prais3.html. For more Passover poems, go to http://www.poemsforfree.com/passoverpoems.html .

This week’s theme: Faith and Jewish identity.

April 18: Praised Be Those Who Don’t Believe theTale