Parsha Poem: קְדֹשִׁים / Kedoshim

יִּקְרָא / VAYIKRA / LEVITICUS 19:1-20:27:  READ IT;  HEAR IT.

Printable PDF version here.

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There are always others weaker than you

We all have weaknesses – even you do.

Widows and orphans, the deaf and the blind;

Don’t take advantage, even just in your mind.

 

If you are  a judge, don’t take people’s money,

Don’t trip a blind man, though it might seem funny;

And when you reap all your grains and their chaff –

Remember to let the poor have the last laugh.

 

We all are kedoshim, we’re just like Hashem

The One from whom all goodness must stem;

In public and private, his laws we uphold,

We grow through them, do them, the way we are told.

 

Rise before grey hair; your seat they have earned,

And listen to all the wisdom they’ve learned.

For even so deeply inside of your heart –

Hashem’s holy people remain set apart.

 

Honour your parents that you live long days;

Respect them in so many different ways.

But there are greater mitzvos, too –

Like Shabbos:  the heart of being a Jew.

 

Don’t take revenge or hold a grudge;

But carefully weigh when you’re selling your fudge

Be honest in all the things that you touch,

For Hashem knows our secrets and loves us so much.

 

This parsha’s chock-full of Hashem’s own instructions,

And some we can learn through our own deductions.

From what we can wear to the food we can swallow –

Hashem chose the Jews, for He knows we will follow!

שַׁבָּת שָׁלוֹם!