© Trisha Arlin
You may wish to dispute this,
But I think
That without disputation, there is no Judaism.
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,
That argumentative amuse bouche,
Made of
Bitter-juicy horseradish
and
Bitter-juicy horseradish
and
Brick-sweet charoset
and
and
Mitigating matza.
That’s us,
Holding a grudge and releasing it, too.
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.
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.
Yum.