WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
Then Israel sang this song, “Rise up, O well, sing responsively to it…”
Numbers 21:17
And God said to Moses, “Go to the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments.
Exodus 19:10
Miriam’s Well
When Miriam’s well follows us to the foot of Horev,
The desolate mountain turns greener than the Nile’s banks
And purple flowers spread across its towering slopes
Like a king before his appearance, donning his cloak.
The well rises and overflows into twelve streams
That course like long sapphire fingers through our camp,
And from the babbling waters we hear Miriam’s song,
“I shall sing to God for He has triumphed…”
The streams surge and overflow, the streams – rivers,
And where yesterday we stumbled on the desert rock,
Now blades of grass caress our soles,
And the Garden of Sinai blooms like the Garden of Eden.
At the rivers’ banks we wash our garments
And the rivers’ fragrant waters mend torn cloth,
And from the murmuring waters we hear Miriam’s song,
“I shall sing to God…”
The rivers surge and overflow, the rivers – a lake.
I immerse in the pure waters, and wrapped in their silk,
My bruises and cuts are healed,
Years of whippings, curses and heartache wash away.
Warm waters hold me in their heart,
Comfort me like my mother’s womb,
And beneath them, I hear the echo of Miriam’s song,
“I shall sing….”
This poem first appeared in the Voices Israel Anthology,
September 2011, Volume 37
September 2011, Volume 37
Bitya, Pharaoh’s Daughter
When I was a child, I ran to my father
Hoping he would catch me, swing me in the air –
But he never stretched out his arms to me
For his arms are the arms of a Sphinx.
When I was a child, I asked my father
Why the sun and moon do not fall to earth –
But he never answered, never smiled at me
For his mouth is the mouth of a Sphinx.
When I was a child, I wanted to tell my father
About the tadpoles I gathered from the water –
But he never listened to me
For his ears are the ears of a Sphinx.
When I was a child, I wanted to show my father
The black beetle I saved from fire –
But he never looked, never looked into my eyes
For his eyes are the eyes of a Sphinx.
O God of the Hebrews,
Open my heart to this child of the slaves –
To cradle him in my arms,
Stroke his fingers with my lips,
Listen to his songs
And meet his gaze.
This poem first appeared in the Voices Israel Anthology,
September 2011, Volume 37
September 2011, Volume 37
Penina
I lie with my wailing son, my pillow damp with tears,
and feel the kicks of yet another child within,
but no man shares my bed:
Elkanah sleeps in her tent.
His eyes are set on her like olive leaves on a branch;
he buys her gold necklaces, bracelets and rings.
Blessed with children but barren of love, I watch,
while she, barren, has all his heart.
On the journey to Shilo, he rode with her,
while I rode, child strapped to my back, alone.
He brought her pomegranate juice and date honey on bread
while I sat nursing, and nettle filled my cup.
What do I need to win a man’s love?
Is bearing his children not enough?
Must I remain like Leah, hated,
while Jacob slept in Rachel’s tent?
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, take this child and nurse him for me… and the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew…
Exodus 2:9-10
Jochebed’s Song
Come, little one, come
drink my milk. I’ll tell you how Abraham
came down to Egypt, and returned to our Land.
He took Isaac, his son, to Moriah.
He built an altar to God. He offered up a ram.
Enough jumping, little one, come –
I’ll tell you a tale how Isaac
planned to give earth’s blessings to Esau –
wheat and wine and heaven’s dew,
but was tricked by Jacob’s hairy hand.
Hush, little one, come
drink my milk. I’ll tell you how Jacob
drew water – with a lion’s strength he rolled the well’s stone,
how he toiled in Haran, and how, from his sons,
like almond blossom our tribes grew.
Enough play, little one, come –
I’ll tell you a tale how Joseph
was the sun for Jacob,
and when the boy was sold to a caravan
of merchants, his father was undone.
You too, little one, like this righteous man
who was forced to leave Israel’s tents
and call Pharaoh’s palace a home,
like a flame ablaze in the dark,
will be a beacon to God’s plan.