Lee Diamond – Searching for Jewish Roots
She was known simply as Rachel
A pioneer and poetess
A “chalutza״
She came to a land that Mark Twain had
Described as desolate country
Uninspiring, and empty!
But Rahel was inspired
She saw more than Mark Twain could
For he was blind to more
Than meets the eye
She saw rebirth
Ancient grain
Budding once again
Provender of old
Flourishing for the new/old People
Of Israel
Without being planted
Or plowed
Or watered
The roots of antiquity
The seeds of a nation
Re-Born to meet the return
Of Israel to Israel
These seeds and roots could
Never wither
Because they were
The soul of Israel
No body can BE without a soul
And no soul can Be without a body !
When the two unite
New life breathes
We, the new Jews
Tried to separate body from soul
The old Jew and the New
But the soul never allowed
Israel to escape itself
It kept us in tact
For the people of this covenant
We wanted to be like all nations
But the land would not allow us
The beckoning Neshama
Our breath, our inner soul
That breath of essence
The NESHAMA
So Deep was unwilling to
Cease breathing
And Held us slaves to Its depth
As our bodies grew strong
As we gained national pride
The soul of the Jew
Demanded its rightful place
And Is now mystifying us
No less than a barren desert blooming
See our new search !
See our song of soul renewal!
Feel the chest, rising without demand !
The chest of the
New/newer and newest
Israeli Jew
Discovering its spiritual roots
Sprouting forth
Like the wheat of the land
Of the living Torah
Of our day.
