We learn
what it means to be the people of Israel:
that at any moment
as we wander
we carry with us two aronot -
two sacred burdens.
The aron-meitim:
The coffin, filled with Joseph’s bones
and
The aron-kodesh:
The Holy Ark,
which holds the Commandments;
God’s words inscribed in stone.
In one hand, our past
In the other
our future
And we must carry them both
with us
as we journey toward whatever awaits us;
whatever God has promised.
We learn
that Moses gathers Joseph’s bones himself
while everyone else rushed about,
panicked
and that his reward for doing so -
for keeping a cool head in chaos;
for remember his obligation to the past -
is that he himself will be buried by God’s own hand
(nevermind the circumstances).
The reward for carrying the past with us:
some kind of unknowable redemption
some kind of honour we have to die to attain
seen as a Prize
and in between:
Hardship
Desert
Loss
War
Grief
Death
What a prize!
And yet
And yet
In the other hand,
Torah
The Balance
The Guidance
The gift that helps us
cope
with all the above-named pains of life
In one hand, suffering
In the other hand,
hope
We learn
what it means to be the people of Israel:
that at any moment
as we wander
we carry with us
Suffering and Hope
Past and Future
Life
and Death
And that all of these are God’s gifts
for us to accept.
-EKG’17