The village of S’fat, in northern Israel

By Joseph Fleischman ~

We went  to the hilltops,  heights of holy promised  land
And found heavenly fountains flowing through mountains
As we left behind all flatland.

Somewhere on the summit in the village of S’fat, I breathed
Over a deep ravine one sacred sniff,
That sweet brief wonder whiff,  eternity.

Streetstones sang out in the rain, each one had a key,
Beneath  them were the hollows, the echoes that follow
The  footsteps of Cordovero, Caro, the holy Ari.

Peaks and waves in strata slopes, layered meanings in between,
O G-d, I pray time’s mark won’t stain these cavern walls
In the chasm between You and me.

There are people down below us in the valley in the plain,
Each one has their trouble, each one has their claim
Each one is illumined by the burning glow of Your furnace flow
Down the paths of this steep mountain terrain.

Joseph Fleischman is a retired businessman, who lives with his wife in Derby. He is the father of four children and three grandchildren and is currently enrolled in a chaplain training program at Griffin Hospital in Derby.
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KOLOT is a feature of the Jewish Ledger in which readers are invited to submit original work on a topic of their choosing.  Inquiries and/or submissions should be sent to editorial@jewishledger.com.