Rebekah’s Rebuke (Tol’dot)

 
And suddenly I’m a sister
 
	I wasn’t chosen
	wasn’t prized
 
A sister is a burden if she doesn’t
have a husband
 
She must be kept
Looked after
Provided for
                                       	
She is a liability
 
Not like a prized wife,
precious above rubies. A sister is
                                           Disposable
 
She can be handed over
She can be raped or
married off
Discarded and
 	dismissed
 
She might be the apple of her father’s eye
She might be her mother’s trusted child
But to a brother she is
 	Troublesome
 
So send me off then, “Brother”.
Save yourself.
I see you for who you are.
I know what you’ve been to me.
 
I remember, though you’ve forgotten.
 
I will be here
when you return to me.
 
-       EKG’17