For Moses
there were many homes
The home of his birth and
the home of the people who raised him
And, like Avram,
God points him
toward a land he’s never been to
And calls it Home
Having many homes means
you never really know whether you’re
going or coming
whether you’re exiled or redeemed
It means being rooted and
uprooted
and rooted again
It means feeling the invisible pull
even when you’re at your most
settled
Like Moses
I climbed a mountain and said,
“Look God, Hineni! I did the work!
I climbed! I made it!”
only to have God laugh and send me
right back
from whence I came
Moses and I, we have more work to do
Climbing the mountain was only
the Beginning
The Sages teach:
There is Beginning in each chapter
We start and start and
start again
Even as we move through
Even as we achieve
Even as we reflect back
This is what I know:
As long as I follow God’s path
my feet will take me where I need to
Go
And only if I forget
that God is leading me
that God walks beside me
only then will I
stray
“Take off your shoes”
God tells him
with some irony
before detailing the journey ahead
But of course, there’s an invitation behind
the words
A secret, deeper meaning
I hear it. I respond.
Release me from the monotony
from the apathy
from the anxiety of the unknown
that I might follow You
through miraculous moments
and toward destiny
I fear not the path
for I know You are taking me
Home
