Lee Diamond – Will your kids be American?
Will they still believe
In American democracy?
What about your grandchildren?
Will they still join together
For Thanksgiving in the generations
To come.
What about the Turkey and the
Cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie?
And thanksgiving parades.
The 4th of July?
Picnics or parades or football games?
The “Old Glory” waving on your own flagpole?
Or Special sales in the shops?
Apple pie and ice Cream?
Presidents’ Day?
George Washington and his cherry tree
And a silver dollar thrown across the Potomac ?
Lincoln?
The Gettysburg address known by heart.
“Four Score and seven years ago?”
“My country ‘Tis of thee ..”
Will the next generation know that Obama was the first black
President?
WELL OF COURSE THEY WILL!
Few doubts about the transmission of the American dream?
Your generations to come will be American
(If allowed.)
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE JEWISH GENERATIONS TO COME?
in America?
Will they be Jewish?
Will the synagogues be full on Yom Kippur?
Or on Rosh HaShana?
Will they remember what a Succah is?
Or sit in one?
Or Simchat Torah? Flags? Jelly apples?
Will Friday night begin with a kiddish?
Will Hebrew still be on the lips of
Your children? Or grandchildren?
Even the decoding of it?
Will they know the tune to Shema Yisrael
Or Avinu Malkeynu?
Will Eretz Yisrael still be a value held worthy
By them? Will Bar Kochba be in their
Jewish vocabulary! Or Judah Maccabee?
Will “40” be a significant Jewish number?
Or Joshua ? Or King David?
Or ‘Yerushalayim?”
How will the Shoah affect your next generations?
What about the 6 day war?
Or Israel Independence Day?
Or the power of HaTikva?
Or Ben Gurion as hero?
Will your next generations
Know your Hebrew name
Or their own?
Will they know the melody to “dayenu”.
Or “chad gadya” ?
Will they understand what it means
To be part of a People?
NOT SO SURE!
To all of the above.
Is it Chutzpah to say that
The next generations of
Israeli Jews
Will know their Hebrew names and yours?
Because that is who they are!
Because this identity has been transmitted
And despite change
We have succeeded!
In Israel to build and be built.
And despite our many faults
We are Jews!
Dayenu
