Poetica Magazine

My poetry collection Blessings and Curses was born out of a wish to make

poetry out of everyday life - mine and other people’s. I no longer remember

whether the first poem I wrote in the series was a Blessing or a Curse.

The subsequent Blessings and Curses are numbered in consecutive order of

their composition. At the outset I didn’t intend to make a series, but

suddenly there it was. With each poem, I asked myself, Is this a Blessing

or a Curse?

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As long as I could answer, I could keep the series going. It may sound

strange, but there were times when I wasn’t quite sure if the poem in

question was a Blessing or a Curse, even though I knew it was one thing or

the other. In other words, some of the Blessings are decidedly mixed, and

some of the Curses have silver linings.

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I had been writing the series for about a year when I wrote what became

the title poem. I grew up in Reform Judaism, where the parasha Nitzavim

(Deuteronomy 29:9-30:19) is substituted for the traditional parasha at

the Yom Kippur service, and I am in agreement with the rabbis and

teachers who see Nitzavim as a key Jewish text. It also happened that

Nitzavim was to be my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah parasha, traditionally read

the Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah. In the months of preparation before the

Bat Mitzvah, we all had the opportunity to reflect on this parasha’s

meanings, and out of these reflections, the poem was born.

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To me it seems significant that God asked Moses to make His teachings into

a song. In other words, God’s words were translated into human art - to

make them more memorable perhaps? More meaningful? More acceptable?

The Torah tells us that this song came to Moses instantly. What artist

doesn’t wish for perfect ease of creation? I haven’t experienced it often,

but when I have, it is a compensation for when creation is laborious and

difficult.

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The title poem expresses the religious ideals I grew up with and the

traditional belief that art is divinely inspired. God’s message is the

power of human beings to choose good over evil and stresses the

importance of intentions, good behavior and proper speech over worship

that is symbolic display. This emphasis has always been and continues to

be one of my favorite qualities of Judaism.

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Here is the poem:

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BLESSINGS AND CURSES

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At the end of the Torah,

God appears to Moses

and tells him his life is over.

He will see the Promised Land

but not set foot in it.

Like his brother Aaron before him,

he will ascend the mountain and die,

but first he must address his people one last time.

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Moses says to his people,

It is up to you to obey God’s commandments.

This is more important to God

than ritual acts of sacrifice.

You must look into your hearts

and choose the words from your mouths.

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Through Moses, God speaks directly,

“I call heaven and earth

to witness against you this day

that I have set before you life and death,

the blessing and the curse;

therefore choose life, that you may live,

you and your seed.”

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Afterwards, God returns

when Moses is alone.

He predicts, after Moses is dead,

His people will betray Him.

They will turn to false gods,

and He will punish them.

God asks Moses to compose a song

to remind the people of their obligations,

which Moses does instantly

and sings it to them,

enumerating God’s blessings and curses.

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Moses is as mysterious

in death as in life.

He died on Mount Nebo,

at the summit of Pisgah,

and was buried below

on the steppes of Moab,

but no one knows his grave.

The Torah tells us, absolutely,

Moses is the greatest leader

the Jewish people ever had.

Not since Moses has God

appeared face-to-face to any human being.

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When Moses died, he left us

with God’s blessings and curses

falling on us equally.

This is the life we are given.

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Thank you for reading JWorld Café, the Poetica Magazine Blog

Anne Whitehouse, Guest Blogger

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Anne Whitehouse’s books include the poetry collections, BLESSINGS AND

CURSES and THE SURVEYOR’S HAND. Her chapbook BEAR IN MIND is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2010. She is the author of the novel FALL LOVE, now available as a free e-book from Amazon Kindle as well as Feedbooks and Smashwords. Please visit her website at http://annewhitehouse.com. - Linda Pressman, Blog Editor