Sculpture by International Artist Phillip Ratner-Ratner Museum
Lee Diamond – A Psalm in Praise of Israel
מה טובו אהליך ישראל
משכנותיך ישראל
How goodly are your tents o Jacob
Your dwelling places Oh Israel
Jacob had to struggle with himself
He needed to climb the many rungs of the ladder
From his earliest and lowliest beginnings
He was just a “heel”
Trying to make his way into the world first
But unable to do so. As hard as he tried
Using all the wits and all the subtle tricks
To reach the finish line first
He remained behind–way behind —and as heel—and not head.
He faced disappointment, failure and pain
In his search for his inner self
And one day he had his chance
The chance for his life— for honest self struggle
Not reaching out to pull on the heel of his brother
But reaching forward and upward
Climbing the ladder between his humble self
to the heavens; hand over foot
As angels passed him by
As they ascended and descended
In their attempt to climb
Showing him that the only way
To climb is to fail and fall
In the upward ascent
That there is no standing still
Nor is there only ascent or descent
We reach our peak
Only by rising step by step from ourselves
It is this, Jacob, that made you ISRAEL
You kept climbing even when you were weighed down
Even when you fell and failed
It is precisely because of the failure that you are reaching
Your potential and becoming Israel.
You see, Israel is not the goal
Israel is the act
Of climbing
Of falling
Of rising
A bit more
Each step Each rung
Of the Sulam Yaakov
Of Jacobs ladder
The goal is to climb
The goal is starting the climb
To reach the peak
Yet accepting that every rung, no matter the effort
And delay
Brings us closer to being Israel.
Despite your failures
Despite the criticism from without
And from within
מה טובו
How Goodly are you
Oh Israel
Even the Angels
Praise you.
In song, by Psalm, by lute and by trumpet
For you,unlike them (who dwell in the heavens)
Reach from earth unto
Heaven.
מה טובו
