The Hillel Sandwich: The Food That Holds A Grudge

You may wish to dispute this,
But I think
That without disputation, there is no Judaism.

Without both the bitter and the sweet,

Without both the strict and the kind,

Without both obligation and flexibility,

We simply cannot exist.

So tonight

We eat the Hillel Sandwich,
That argumentative amuse bouche,

Made of
Bitter-juicy horseradish
and

Brick-sweet charoset
and

Mitigating matza.

That’s us,
Holding a grudge and releasing it, too.

Remembering that we were once slaves

And that then we were free,
Refusing to enslave others
and
Fighting those who would do so.

We eat and

We bask in God’s presence,

We eat and

We ask questions,

WE eat and

We study Torah,

We eat

And we tell our bitter and sweet stories.
Yum.