blog, my life in tel aviv, poetry, ,

i was sure it would be out for Passover, and I’d be able to send the mobi file to friends for the fun of comparing the stories of Passover with the reality of Egypt and the slaves and the Jews.  I spent at least 2 days editing it so the pictures align with the text.  but this afternoon I was informed that it all came out a mess and I have to start over and a kindle book would be impossible.  it’s such a fun book and to me so enlightening I’m really broken-hearted.  And I have a ton of paperwork from the IAWE to take care of before I leave.  But never mind – I’ll give you a poem in advance:

 

 

Footstool

 

See how each slave is unique –

But Sudanese, Philistinian, or Jew

they’re all tied in one unyielding queue

and you know they’ve been brought

from all over the world,

together on one footstool

under the heel of the Pharaoh

who will never let

these people go

a poem in advance:

 

march 7, 2021 – Egypt: an israelite returns, editing Read Post »

blog, my life in tel aviv

last year at this time we were returning from Egypt.  It was a great voyage – in many ways and I am planning to publish a kindle in the next weeks about this trip.  I’ll send you a copy if you ask.  But the big thing i now remember is the miracle of our salvation.  We didn’t catch covid.  At one point, in the temple of Abu Simbel, I suddenly stopped listening to our guide and noticed that all around me I’d been hearing Chinese and Italian for days, that some people were even wearing masks, and we are among a close crowd of people.  That moment of clarity disappeared as we continued touring throughout the country, standing very close to numerous strangers.  A few days after we returned we realized how dangerous it was as we came down with some kind of violent flu, asked immediately to get tested, and understood that a woman who returned to Israel only a day after us, had died of Covid.  We didn’t catch it then, but it was just a matter of enormous luck.  Let’s hope that luck holds…

march 3, 2021 – Egypt Read Post »