Light verse poetry and music are neat ways to get into Torah stories. As you read the poems below, try to guess what songs they are alluding to. Links to the songs appear at the end of the poems. I have many Folk-Rock-Torahs. It’s fun to do this via Zoom. If you would like more information, be in touch.
Folk-Rock-Torah for Naso
This Torah portion in the Book of Numbers includes the “ordeal” the suspicious husband can impose upon his wife. There may be no evidence at all that the woman has been unfaithful; the husband need only possess a jealous spirit. An Israelite priest then puts her through a series of degrading steps to determine her guilt or innocence. The steps include unpinning her hair and forcing her to drink a “curse,” which is a bitter admixture of water and earth in which the Holy Name has been dissolved. If her body reacts, she is considered guilty.
Despite no shred of evidence
I’m fully, totally convinced
My wife has turned away from me
I’m in the grip of jealousy
Lucky for me there’s this ordeal
To prove that my suspicion’s real
The priest takes her to a public place
Removes the veil from upon her face
Takes the pins out of her hair
As all our neighbors stop and stare
At my wife, who must hate me
But I’m in the grip of jealousy
She’s got to drink a bitter curse
And more than that, it gets much worse
We glare at her, we fix our eyes
Upon her belly and her thighs
Will they droop, sag or distend?
She’s crying now. Will this soon end?
Now I feel bad. I see her pain.
My jealousy prevails again.
Sometimes I get so insecure
She might not love me anymore
So I begin to lose control
The jealous spirit takes its toll
I was feeling so confused
Thought that I was being used
But alas, it wasn’t she
The problem once again was me
Even if exonerated
She’s publicly humiliated
I know you know the reason why.
It’s ‘cause I’m just a jealous guy.
Folk-Rock-Torah for Va’Yeitzei
In the Torah portion Va’Yeitei in the Book of Genesis, Jacob and Rachel fall in love and want to marry immediately. Because Rachel is the younger sister, though, her father Laban tricks Jacob into marry Leah, the older sister, first. Jacob must work an additional seven years as a shepherd for Lavan in order to marry Rachel. In the verses that follow, I use the Hebrew names and pronunciations: “Yaakov” for “Jacob” and “Racheil” (accent on the second syllable) for “Rachel.”
When you’re a young man
And in need of relating
Seven full years
Is a long time for waiting
But Yaakov was wise
And knew very well
That eventually
He’d marry Racheil
So everyday
He focused on herding
Though his heart was heavy
And his body hurting
Yet his love was so great
That the days flew by fast
And that first night of marriage
Would sure be a blast
How was he to know
Of the planned switcheroo
And instead of one sister
He’d be marrying two?
But the point here is clear
What more can I say?
Buddy, true love is closer
With every day