nina rose

יום הזיכרון

o





(my eyes have been too dry.)


o

I Raise My Head

ארים ראשי

שי גבסו

הולך אני כעת במשעול ההווה
כילד ההולך לו לאיבוד
כפות ידי הן מושטות
מבקשות את העזרה להמשיך איתך את המסע
ובצדדים הפרחים כאילו איבדו את זהותם
מחפשים עוד קרן אור שתעזור
עוד לגימה קטנה של מים ממעייני החוכמה
תביא להם את התקווה

ארים ראשי, אשא עיני אל ההרים במרחקים
וקולי ישמע כזעקה, כתפילת האדם
וליבי יקרא מאין יבוא עזרי

עובר אני כעת בין נופים חדשים
הצעדים הם נעשים כה איטיים
מה יש שם שאין פה שאל אותי עובר
מה בלב אתה שומר
קשיש העיר כשעל גבו מונח כל עברו
מביט סביב ומחפש את עולמו
כשהווה כל כך קשה
לא אומר דבר, ארים ראשי אל המחר

ארים ראשי, אשא עיני אל ההרים במרחקים
וקולי ישמע כזעקה, כתפילת האדם
וליבי יקרא מאין יבוא עזרי

I Raise My Head
Shai Gibsho
(rough translation)

I walk in the path of the present
Like a child who is losing his way
His hands are extended
Asking someone for help to continue the journey
On the side the flowers have almost lost their identity
They are looking for another ray of light to help
Another sip of water from the springs of wisdom
That will bring them hope

I raise my head, I look to the mountains in the distance
And my voice will sound like a cry, like the prayer of man
And my heart will call out, from whence will my help come

I cross at this moment between new landscapes
The steps are taken very slowly
What is there that isn't here, a passerby asks me
What in your heart are you guarding?
The town elder carries his past on his back
And looks around to search for his world
When the present is so hard I will not say a thing-
I will raise my head to tomorrow

I raise my head, I look to the mountains in the distance
And my voice will sound like a cry, like the prayer of man
And my heart will call out, from whence will my help come

memorial at Plashow Forced Labor Camp

Krakow- outlined shapes representing the missing Jews

Auschwitz-Birkenau

writing on the window of a barrack at Birkenau

Israeli flag in front of artwork made by the prisoners- three eagles representing freedom

Treblinka. Blowing the same shofar that was blown at the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 at the Kotel.

whirling

i feel so crowded right now
maybe the light is bright or maybe i had a latte too late or maybe i can't see beyond building 4 because it is dark or maybe my desk is crowded but my mind is crowded and i cannot think or do my hebrew homework or write an end-of-trip wrap-up or move from here or digest it all but i shall have to do something because this whirling is not.

the holiday of questions

a friend asked me:
why do we only have a seder on the first night(s)?

as I was not sure of the answer, I pass the question on to you, my dear readers who have been silent of late.


aside: I feel very accomplished when I can have an entire conversation on the phone in Hebrew, even if it is just to order a sherut to the airport. :)

drip drip drop little april showers

(midnight, entering building 5 in כפר סטודנטים after dinner and ice cream)

rebecca: this door is never closed.
kate: yeah, it's like always open.




i was standing at the bathroom sink pulling out a few grey hairs and then i realized that this was, in fact, impossible- too much of my hair is grey. i then retreated to my room and sat with favorite blankey, bemoaning my destiny.

it would have been enough

From the Kibbutz Ein Harod Haggadah:

"We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt," to King Farouks and Nassers in Egypt. But "we went out from there" – with a popular national uprising, "with a strong hand" – working and laboring, "with an outstretched arm" – liberating ourselves. And if our ancestors had not been liberated, "we and our children and our children's children, would still be slaves" – in exile.

I especially enjoy this selection from The Red Haggadah:

We were slaves to Capital, until the October Revolution "redeemed us with a strong had" from the land of slavery. If it weren't for the October Revolution, then we and our children's children would still be slaves to Capital. Today the revolution is only here, next year – a world revolution.

what? what's that you say?

april?!?



madness. absolute madness.
I am beginning my ninth month here, and celebrating it by cleaning and having a big meal and then leaving the country.
but really, april?