From Maalot to Munich
To hangings in Iraq
Throughout my teens
Each year there was
A September called Black
Airplanes they were hijacked
And busses they were bombed
And children kidnapped in their schools
And never our fears calmed
Through my years in Israel
Events like these arose
But somehow to forget them soon
My simple mind had chose
And every time we hear the news
We think it can’t get worse
But tochachah
Is biting pain
That’s sharp as it is terse
Throughout the years of tragedies
Each time they cry, “Repent!”
A call is made to hearken to
The message that was sent
How many calls to teshuvah?
Dozens if not scores?
Intifadas, massacres
Kidnappings and wars
We’ve all made our kabbalos
And promises to keep
And life goes on
Day after day
And we go back to sleep
I think back at my lowly self
And question my resolve
It seems that anything I’ve made
Somehow did dissolve
I lived through countless tragedies
Accepted things to do
Like watch my mouth
And daven more
And things I won’t tell you
In retrospect
I ponder
Is there something I kept
Dating back to tragedies
When Am Yisrael wept?
We’ve all made our kabbalos
We said we will get better
Collectively
Or just it’s me
Who is a big forgetter
And this time, my dear brethren
Kabbalos I have made
I hope the zeal
I made them with
Will never, ever fade
And all of our commitments
The things we’ve taken on
Will be with us
For years to come
When this golus is gone….
