Written by: Blumie Raskin Abend
This week
I will go to Shul.
For Lori Kaye,
A woman in 2019 who died
Because she was born
A Jew.
I will go to Shul
For my grandfather
Who survived the hellish nightmare
That was Auschwitz
But who’s family
I never knew.
I will go to Shul
For Eva, the instagram poster
Who wanted to live
Who wanted to be a child
But her youth
Was ripped away from her.
I will go to Shul
For Gabi and Rivky Holzberg
Who were murdered
In cold blood
In their home.
I will go to Shul
For baby Shalhevet
The child of Chevron
Who barely lived on this earth
And now occupies a place
On High.
I will go to Shul
For my grandmother
Who’s parents died of starvation
Under Stalin’s rule
Who survived by the skin of her teeth
Through Russian orphanages
And cruel dictatorship.
I will go to Shul
For the Six Million.
I will go to Shul
For the Israeli soldiers.
I will go to Shul
For the Russian progroms.
I will go to Shul
For the Roman massacres.
I will go to Shul
For the heroes of
The Spanish Inquisition.
I will go to Shul
For the Jews sent to Siberia
I will go to Shul
For the Babylonian exile.
I will go to Shul
For my children.
I will go to Shul
For your grandchildren.
I will go to Shul
Even though I can’t help but feel
A tiny bit afraid.
I will go to Shul
To show them we are strong
We are brave.
We are not the people
Who cowered in fear.
This week
I will go to Shul
Because I am a Jew.
Will you?