images related to the 1929 massacre in Hebron‘Driven from Their Homes’ and Other Israel-Inspired Poetry by Brian Yapko The Society June 11, 2024 Culture, Poetry 21 Comments . . Driven from Their Homes Deported and despised. Compelled to leave. 900,000 driven from their homes With pain enough to fill one-million tomes— And yet they are forgotten. Will none grieve? . Morocco, Egypt and Afghanistan Iran, Iraq, Tunisia and others Expelled them with a racist hate that smothers All hints of justice with this ethnic ban. . The List shows clearly Arabs will not brook A single Jew within their realms. Slammed doors— A true apartheid which the world ignores. But those who care for truth should dare to look: . The Ottoman defeat in World War I Meant Arabs gained home-rule throughout the region. They banished Jews as Muslim hate was legion Before the State of Israel had begun. . They claim it’s “Israel” but the dates aren’t right. Take Hebron: Back in 1929 A hate-drunk Arab mob killed 69 Devout and unarmed Jews who could not fight. . Such massacres became a frequent tool Of rage at Jews who somehow had survived Despite the fact that Islam had contrived To subjugate all cultures to its rule. . They hate Jews for their proven history In Israel—one that Arab squatters lacked. As killing Jews makes moot that awkward fact, The Arab end game is no mystery. . Cast out from Yemen, Pakistan, Bahrain From Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. They cannot stand one million Jews—or one; And where those Jews should go none can explain. . . . . Poet’s Note Poet’s Note: Between 1920 and 1980, 900,000 Jews were expelled from Arab and Muslim Countries. The former Jewish populations and present populations are as follows: Morocco 250,000 down to 3,000 Algeria 140,000 down to 0 Tunisia 105,000 down to 1,000 Libya 35,000 down to 0 Egypt 80,000 down to 100 Sudan 350 down to 0 Yemen 550,000 down to 300 Jordan 10,000 down to 0 Syria 30,000 down to 100 Iraq 135,000 down to 0 Bahrain 600 down to 50 Turkey 80,000 down to 17,000 Oman 3,000 down to 0 Iran 150,000 down to 10,000 Afghanistan 40,000 down to 1 Pakistan 1300 down to 0 Lebanon 20,000 down to 100 . None of these expelled refugees received compensation. They built new lives in foreign countries as best they could. After 1948, most of them turned to Israel—the only country which did not reject them. Sources: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-refugees-from-arab-countries; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_exodus_from_the_Muslim_world# https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/news/the-expulsion-of-jews-from-arab-countries-and-iran–an-untold-history . . . . Village of Galilean Mystics The Hebrew place name “Tzfat” (also transliterated as “Safed”) is one syllable and rhymes with “spot.” This pilgrimage has ever been my dream; To Tzfat where I might don a prayer shawl And deeply meditate on Elohim; But as I enter, lightning strobes with thunder. In Israel who would augur such a squall? I pray this sudden storm won’t cast a pall Upon my quest for holiness and wonder! Tzfat came to be the soul of Jewish thought When 15th Century Spain expelled its Jews. Upon this hallowed hill Tzfat’s rabbis taught Kabbala in its ancient shuls of stone Their roofs like heaven painted in deep blues. Now seekers come to study cryptic clues Of God’s designs in arcane scriptures shown. Those mystic rabbis teach there to this day, Where synagogues and artists vie for space And books and sculptures nourish those who pray. But with this storm I can’t transcend Earth’s plane. I’d so hoped to explore this ancient place And find my soul in ecstasy’s embrace. Instead I search for shelter from the rain. The arcane scrolls and galleries must wait Depriving me of insight from wise sages. Although the path to knowledge is not straight My hunger for enlightenment stays avid. The Lord decrees that wisdom come in stages, And offers haven as the rainstorm rages In ancient alleys carved with Stars of David. I hear Lecha Dodi sung through the rain: “Come My Beloved, Let us Meet the Bride.” It’s Friday eve; as Sabbath comes again Tzfat’s Jews receive her as their sacred wife. But what of me with nowhere to abide? I see a door. I try to peer inside And slip on steps as jagged as a knife. My knee bleeds red and paints the stones like art. I moan. My dreams of Tzfat drift to despair; My pilgrimage seems ruined from the start. The rain gets louder; rue and pain are stirred. I’m soaked and hurting… Then I see her there! A woman through the whirlwind with red hair. She comes to me! The Bride of whom I’d heard! She places her umbrella over me And speaks in Hebrew I can’t understand. She walks me to her nearby bakery And bandages my knee. She smiles and brings Me fresh-baked challah. When she takes my hand The pain no longer matters. I can stand And find in Tzfat my wounded soul’s grown wings. . Elohim is the Hebrew word for God as used in the Old Testament. Shul is Yiddish for a small synagogue. Lecha Dodi is a Hebrew liturgical song sung on Fridays at sundown to welcome the Sabbath. The refrain “lecha dodi” means “Let us go, my beloved, to greet the bride. The Sabbath presence, let us welcome.” It is an invitation to God (Israel’s beloved) to join with His people in welcoming the Sabbath, personified as a bride. The phrase “Let us go, my beloved” is taken from Song of Songs. . . Brian Yapko is a retired lawyer whose poetry has appeared in over fifty journals. He is the winner of the 2023 SCP International Poetry Competition. Brian is also the author of several short stories, the science fiction novel El Nuevo Mundo and the gothic archaeological novel Bleeding Stone. He lives in Wimauma, Florida. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 21 Responses Roy Eugene Peterson June 11, 2024 Your poems mean so much more than eloquent use of the English language and knowledge of Hebrew and Yiddish. They prick the conscience of the reader with factual historical details and the portrayal of innate pain and suffering of the Jewish people who have scarcely survived through the centuries and who have suffered untold losses at the hands of the hate filled Arabic and Germanic nations, among others. At a time when hatred once again is on the rise for defending their nation and freeing kidnapped victims, only voices such as yours can provide a countervailing point of view to pierce the darkness. May the hand of God continue to work through you and provide such blessings for us to receive and the world to learn and change. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Thank you very much indeed, Roy. Many people are ignorant of a huge chunk of Middle Eastern history which explains how we have reached the terrible place we are at now. I thought it worthwhile to bring this missing history to the attention of readers. Thank you as well for your prayer which means so much to me. Reply James A. Tweedie June 11, 2024 Brian, The world is and has been a brutal and inhospitable place for many marginalized people over the centuries, and Jewish communities have suffered more than their fair share of such condemnable repressions, expulsions, pogroms and genocides. Your first poem highlights this modern history in ways that cut to my heart. The Tanakh bears witness to ancient historical cycles of Jewish wandering, homelessness, slavery, deportation and exile. Along with all of its historical and political shortcomings, only the State of Israel offers a shelter, a welcome and a home for the Jewish diaspora. Your second poem points to your yeaning to find such a place in Tzfat, your initial disappointment, and a surprising stumble that leads to a happy resolution. Well done and well told. I suppose you are familiar with The Deronda Review. If not, I highly recommend it as a place that would welcome your poetry. They accept submissions of previously posted/published poems. Blessings. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Thank you so much for this, James. Jewish suffering is something that is often on my mind and it pains me to see it utterly discounted, trivialized and mischaracterized in these terrible times. Thank you for mentioning The Deronda Review. I am not familiar with it and much appreciate your suggestion regarding submitting work to it. Reply Joseph S. Salemi June 11, 2024 The second poem (“Village…”) is a deeply personal piece, rooted in the speaker’s desire to find and experience his Judaic heritage. His coming to Tzfat is the realization of that desire, but it is fraught with obstacles: lightning and rain, no room in the ancient places, his lack of Hebrew, and the nasty accident that leaves his knee bleeding. It is as if his heritage itself is one of pain and difficulty — pain and difficulty that he must re-experience personally before he can meet The Bride who bandages his wound and brings him fresh bread. Let me reiterate what I have said recently here on another thread: all religious phenomena must be linked to some local and historically fixed place. The first poem (“Driven…”) is about deliberately forgotten history. No one in the West’s lying left-liberal media will bring up or even allude to the figures given by Yapko. It would be politically inconvenient, and would not suit the agreed-upon left-liberal narrative. Jews (as representatives of Western culture) don’t count. Brown-skinned terrorists in Gaza who hide behind civilian shields do. Just a few days ago the IDF rescued some hostages from captivity in Rafah. They were being held in the home of a so-called independent and neutral “journalist” who in reality was just an operative for Hamas. Naturally there were collateral casualties among civilians in the IDF raid, and on the BBC some idiot actually complained that the IDF did not give adequate warning that they were going to attack the place of captivity, to allow for “evacuation.” Has the BBC lost its collective mind? Give a warning before launching a surprise rescue raid? I wonder if the BBC complained that Churchill did not warn the Germans that June 6 would be D-Day, and that the landings would be at Normandy rather than Calais. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Joe, I am very grateful for this detailed comment regarding both poems. Your observations regarding both are, of course, spot-on. I love how you recognized the heritage of pain and difficulty in the speaker’s experience in Village. And I’m especially gratified by your spotlighting the facts concerning the expulsions in Driven From Their Homes. It astonishes me that so few people will ever mull over the question “Gee, I wonder why there aren’t any Jews in Syria?” And the term “apartheid” never comes to mind, even though that’s far more what it is in the Arab world than it has ever been so in Israel. Your comments about the IDF and the rescue of the hostages is so observant as to be painful. It could almost result in a series of (extremely) dark satire pieces about how the U.S. should have notified Osama bin Laden’s compound about our imminent raid, or how Jimmy Carter should have notified Iran that he was coming for our American hostages. It cuts both ways. Japan really should have warned us about Pearl Harbor and Al Quaida should have warned us about 9/11. And absolutely yes, the BBC has lost its collective mind. And its soul. Reply Margaret Coats June 11, 2024 Brian, what a synaesthetic dream song of the storied city on a hill that’s been in my dreams too! It looks like the plain tale of a tourist with strong spiritual cravings, who gets caught in unanticipated rain, loses heart by an accident and injury, but then is relieved by a kindly woman who puts his emotions over the top again with her charity. But there are mystic overtones to everything. The speaker encourages allegorical interpretation by his own enunciated thoughts that see more, even in his difficulties. Until, that is, the knee injury disables him as a pilgrim by bringing high-strung feelings to despair. After the next stage in gathering wisdom, though, he can not only stand but fly! Rather than provide my lengthy reading, I’ll go straight to points you, the poet (and pilgrim, I suppose), need to clarify for me. I see red in two places of that epiphanic sixth stanza: the pilgrim’s knee bleeds red, and it paints the stones that did the harm. Then there appears a woman with most unusual looks for the location: she has red hair. And she comes through a whirlwind, which probably add multiple touches of significance to the scene. Would love to have your explication, Brian. Of course I know why there are seven stanzas of seven lines each. This is near enough perfection for it to become instantly one of my favorites among your works. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you for your very generous comment, Margaret. Thank you especially for noting the choice of stanza lengths and numbers. And, as you have correctly surmised, there are Kabbalistic aspects to this poem — particularly the things you singled out. (There are others, such as the symblism of a mishap while climbing steps, but I will save that for another time.) Here, the issue is distilled down to my use of the color red. The color red has very deep Kabbalistic significance as it relates back to the Torah itself, which regarded as the “blood” of the cosmic body – the flow of divine influence that extends to every “cell” of creation, imbuing it with the breath of life, nourishing and developing it, and combating the negative forces that threaten to corrupt it. The color red also represents the desire to receive wisdom and, finally, it signifies protection against evil. This goes all the way back to the blood on the doors that the Hebrews are instructed to paint on in Exodos to keep them safe from the Angel of Death. You may, from time to time, see Kabbalists wear red string bracelets with seven knots as a guard against evil and an expression of the desire to receive wisdom. In my poem, I wanted the speaker to also suffer and undergo a sacrifice for the wisdom he was to find. The bleeding was a mishap and yet, in a colony of artists, it is likened to the creative act of painting rather than being seen as a loss. In that regard, this might be a “felix culpa” type of situation for, despite the pain it causes, it inadavertently leads to the greatest lesson of divine wisdom of all – the deep value of charity. In that regard, it is compatible with, without necessary foreshadowing, Christian thinking. This inadvertence is also quite importanat to me for one can search and search and search but it is often the accidental event that finally leads to insight. God is in charge even if He is not obvious about it. The Bride is a subjective projection of the speaker. For him she becomes the personification of the spirit of Shabbat, even though she is, in reality, a kindly baker who is getting ready for Shabbat but who sees his distress and rushes to help him and get him back on his feet. She is then also seen as an angel, which is why her charity and the spiritual force implicit behind it in this unique setting, allow his soul to finally rise on metaphoric wings. The whirlwind is important simply because biblically-speaking, God speaks out of the whirlwind. This is especially so in the Book of Job – not that my speaker’s misfortunes come anywhere near to his sufferings. And that red hair ties her back to the previous sacrifice and creation and that “flow of divine influence” I reference above. And the spiritual openness — that desire to receive. Red hair has historically been strangely common in Ashkenazi Jews. Even with only one Jewish parent, I myself had carrot red hair and a constellation of freckles until I turned 12! Thank you again, Margaret, for asking and allowing me to give them insight into the thought behind this poem. I’m very glad that you like it! Reply Cheryl Corey June 12, 2024 Since much is made of the Palestinian so-called “right of return”, your first poem sheds light on the hypocrisy of Muslim majority countries that expelled their Jewish populations. The statistics you included bear this out. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you very much, Cheryl, for this comment. I was so hoping someone would make this observation. That claimed “right of return” is a Trojan Horse intended to destroy the only Jewish state. For heaven’s sake, there are 23 Arab countries. Israel is 8,522 square miles. The Arab world is 5,148,014 square miles. It is 604 times bigger than Israel — and it refuses to accept Jews — and yet it is Israel which is trashed for daring to exist as a Jewish state? And not one of those Arab states can help the Palestinians other than by shipping bombs and instigating antisemitic demonstrations? When it comes to the way Israel is treated internationally, good faith does not exist. Reply Joshua C. Frank June 12, 2024 The first poem is an impressive summary of facts to set the record straight regarding Israel and its Muslim neighbors (I’d better not get any more into it because thinking about how the left keeps stabbing Israel in the back makes me livid), but it’s the second one I’m really drawn to, as I love a poem that really immerses me in the experience, as if it were its own self-contained world in a space visible from the speaker’s vantage point. The personification of the Sabbath as a bride is interesting; I don’t recall seeing this in the Bible. It reminds me of priests who joke that their breviaries, from which they’re obligated to pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day, are their wives. It’s also interesting to see all the details you give in your response to Margaret’s comment. Anyway, it’s really good. Maybe one of your best. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you so much, Josh! Thank you for sticking with the first poem even though it’s challenging to deal with the facts stated. It gets me upset to read it even now, and I wrote the darn thing! But somewhere, somehow the truth has to come out and it needs to be respected. Otherwise, we’re never actually facing the problems that are out there. Leftists don’t want the facts. They want to do whatever cherrypicking supports their narrative — in this case their Palestinianv-victimization narrative. And if facts don’t help that narrative, to hell with them. What does that say about them? I’m thrilled that you liked my “Village of Galilean Mystics.” As painful as “Driven” was to write, “Villages” was a joy. I’ve been to Israel twice but still have not made it to Tzfat. We were all set to go on a special tour of Galilee with a full day in Tzfat in May of 2020 but Covid restrictions ruined those plans. I pray that this pilgrimage may yet take place. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant June 13, 2024 Brian, I am arriving late to your poems and much has been covered in the most intriguing and enlightening comments section – all down to the power of your marvelously conceived and adeptly conveyed words. It is evident that an awful lot of thought and effort has gone into both of these fine works. Firstly, I would like to thank you for bringing hard facts and figures to the fore in “Driven from Their Homes”. There are many out there condemning the Jews without full knowledge of the history or the present horrors. When one sees the bigger picture in a stark and heart-rending poem, together with the math in black and white, it puts a fresh and broader perspective on this situation – one that needs to be taken into consideration before picking sides based on MSM manipulation. “Village of Galilean Mystics” is something very special indeed. Although aware of the symbolism within the poem, I had little knowledge of the meaning. I am most grateful for your conversation with Margaret – it has enabled me to enjoy this poem to its glorious full. In my initial reading, I was struck by this line: “with this storm I can’t transcend Earth’s plane.” – yet the poem goes on to show exactly the opposite, and that journey, leading to care and wonder, moved me greatly. I have had such moments. Just when I think life on earth is a little too tough for my heart to cope with… I am lifted to heavenly heights by someone or something that tells me the exact opposite. I may not have grasped the symbolism, but the sentiment shines brightly and beautifully. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 13, 2024 Thank you so much, Susan! The antisemitism that has become so rampant in recent months is one of the things that pushed me into writing this poem and presenting the cold, hard facts of what occurred to the Jews and why Israel is the only reliable Jewish haven in the world. I’m glad that this was able to give you a fresh perspective. MSM manipulation is terribly powerful and terribly unfair. I’m also so pleased that you liked “Galilean Mystics.” I relate fully to those moments when “life on earth is a little too touch…” Those moments in life when we encounter angels garbed in human form who help us out of that dark place are so special. It’s amazing how such people can enter our lives just when we need them! Reply Lannie David Brockstein June 13, 2024 Brian, first it was the ancient Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa that were destroyed by the Muslim supremacists. Nowadays, except in Israel, it is the ancient Christian communities in those countries that are being destroyed by the Muslim supremacists. Furthermore, around 100 churches in Canada during the past several years have been vandalized, damaged, or burned to the ground. This past Sunday (June 9th, 2024), most of the St. Anne’s Anglican Church (1907-08) in Toronto, which is Canada’s largest city, burned to the ground: Rebel News (June 11th, 2024) – “ANOTHER church goes up in flames — are Canadians noticing a pattern?”: https://odysee.com/@RebelNews:9/another-church-goes-up-in-flames-%E2%80%94-are:2 It is the same story in Europe, including in 2019 when most of the Notre-Dame de Paris burned to the ground. Thank you Brian, for having helped to shine a light on the evil history of Muslim supremacism. From Lannie. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 13, 2024 Thank you so much for this appreciative and instructive comment, Lannie. I had no idea about the many churches that are under attack in Canada — this is something which horrifies me! And, yes, people don’t seem to remember or even really register how much Christian communities are under attack in the Muslim world. Why are people so blind to the fruits of Islamic fundamentalism? Do people — especially globalists — ever once ask themselves why do so immigrants come FROM Muslim countries to Europe, America and the West without there being any reciprocal emigration of Westerners TO Muslim countries? If we’re all one big human global family shouldn’t the desire to spread into Muslim countries be as common as the desire to leave them? Get a leftist to answer that one. Reply Joseph S. Salemi June 13, 2024 Good luck on getting a left-liberal to answer any question honestly. I used to ask them this: “Why are there thousands of East Germans who want to get into West Germany, but no West Germans who have the slightest desire to go live in East Germany?” They never gave me a straight answer. But I was always marked down as “the enemy” after that. Joshua C. Frank June 13, 2024 Of course. Left-liberals have to keep the self-deception going, otherwise they’ll have to abandon their left-liberalism, as I did in my twenties because (to make a long story short) I couldn’t keep fooling myself anymore. David Whippman June 19, 2024 Brian, “Driven from Their Homes” is a well-written poem, an informative history lesson, and a call for true justice, all rolled into one. I’d like it to be compulsory reading for all the pro-Palestine idiots currently causing mayhem. Work like yours is badly needed when (for instance) in the UK, the state broadcaster didn’t even report the attempted murder of Jews by an Islamist in London. (He was found guilty, but not sent to prison.) Thank you. Reply Brian A. Yapko June 19, 2024 Thank you very much, David. A comment like this helps keep me going when I otherwise get quite discouraged. I think it’s important to write poetry of this nature — I hope for it to be good poetry but to also be educational. I so wish I had the power to renew people’s sense of justice based on actual facts and history rather than on loud and popular views — views which are based on a fictitous rewriting of history in which passions have been stoked to the point where they don’t even realize how unjust their loud cries for justice actually are. This is what happens when history gets faked, redacted, rewritten to support ideology. The antisemitism you describe is heartbreaking but now an increasingly common affair. I fear that the momentum is so strong that something truly tragic and world-changing is going to have to occur to restore sanity and a respect for actual history. But as for the present, it seems there are no fair trials anymore. Reply David Whippman June 21, 2024 Sadly I must agree. I’ve thought for quite a while that it’s a question of when – not if – a pro-Palestinian in the UK (doubtless the US too) murders Jewish people. I hope I am wrong, but as you say, the momentum has built so much. Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Roy Eugene Peterson June 11, 2024 Your poems mean so much more than eloquent use of the English language and knowledge of Hebrew and Yiddish. They prick the conscience of the reader with factual historical details and the portrayal of innate pain and suffering of the Jewish people who have scarcely survived through the centuries and who have suffered untold losses at the hands of the hate filled Arabic and Germanic nations, among others. At a time when hatred once again is on the rise for defending their nation and freeing kidnapped victims, only voices such as yours can provide a countervailing point of view to pierce the darkness. May the hand of God continue to work through you and provide such blessings for us to receive and the world to learn and change. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Thank you very much indeed, Roy. Many people are ignorant of a huge chunk of Middle Eastern history which explains how we have reached the terrible place we are at now. I thought it worthwhile to bring this missing history to the attention of readers. Thank you as well for your prayer which means so much to me. Reply
James A. Tweedie June 11, 2024 Brian, The world is and has been a brutal and inhospitable place for many marginalized people over the centuries, and Jewish communities have suffered more than their fair share of such condemnable repressions, expulsions, pogroms and genocides. Your first poem highlights this modern history in ways that cut to my heart. The Tanakh bears witness to ancient historical cycles of Jewish wandering, homelessness, slavery, deportation and exile. Along with all of its historical and political shortcomings, only the State of Israel offers a shelter, a welcome and a home for the Jewish diaspora. Your second poem points to your yeaning to find such a place in Tzfat, your initial disappointment, and a surprising stumble that leads to a happy resolution. Well done and well told. I suppose you are familiar with The Deronda Review. If not, I highly recommend it as a place that would welcome your poetry. They accept submissions of previously posted/published poems. Blessings. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Thank you so much for this, James. Jewish suffering is something that is often on my mind and it pains me to see it utterly discounted, trivialized and mischaracterized in these terrible times. Thank you for mentioning The Deronda Review. I am not familiar with it and much appreciate your suggestion regarding submitting work to it. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi June 11, 2024 The second poem (“Village…”) is a deeply personal piece, rooted in the speaker’s desire to find and experience his Judaic heritage. His coming to Tzfat is the realization of that desire, but it is fraught with obstacles: lightning and rain, no room in the ancient places, his lack of Hebrew, and the nasty accident that leaves his knee bleeding. It is as if his heritage itself is one of pain and difficulty — pain and difficulty that he must re-experience personally before he can meet The Bride who bandages his wound and brings him fresh bread. Let me reiterate what I have said recently here on another thread: all religious phenomena must be linked to some local and historically fixed place. The first poem (“Driven…”) is about deliberately forgotten history. No one in the West’s lying left-liberal media will bring up or even allude to the figures given by Yapko. It would be politically inconvenient, and would not suit the agreed-upon left-liberal narrative. Jews (as representatives of Western culture) don’t count. Brown-skinned terrorists in Gaza who hide behind civilian shields do. Just a few days ago the IDF rescued some hostages from captivity in Rafah. They were being held in the home of a so-called independent and neutral “journalist” who in reality was just an operative for Hamas. Naturally there were collateral casualties among civilians in the IDF raid, and on the BBC some idiot actually complained that the IDF did not give adequate warning that they were going to attack the place of captivity, to allow for “evacuation.” Has the BBC lost its collective mind? Give a warning before launching a surprise rescue raid? I wonder if the BBC complained that Churchill did not warn the Germans that June 6 would be D-Day, and that the landings would be at Normandy rather than Calais. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 11, 2024 Joe, I am very grateful for this detailed comment regarding both poems. Your observations regarding both are, of course, spot-on. I love how you recognized the heritage of pain and difficulty in the speaker’s experience in Village. And I’m especially gratified by your spotlighting the facts concerning the expulsions in Driven From Their Homes. It astonishes me that so few people will ever mull over the question “Gee, I wonder why there aren’t any Jews in Syria?” And the term “apartheid” never comes to mind, even though that’s far more what it is in the Arab world than it has ever been so in Israel. Your comments about the IDF and the rescue of the hostages is so observant as to be painful. It could almost result in a series of (extremely) dark satire pieces about how the U.S. should have notified Osama bin Laden’s compound about our imminent raid, or how Jimmy Carter should have notified Iran that he was coming for our American hostages. It cuts both ways. Japan really should have warned us about Pearl Harbor and Al Quaida should have warned us about 9/11. And absolutely yes, the BBC has lost its collective mind. And its soul. Reply
Margaret Coats June 11, 2024 Brian, what a synaesthetic dream song of the storied city on a hill that’s been in my dreams too! It looks like the plain tale of a tourist with strong spiritual cravings, who gets caught in unanticipated rain, loses heart by an accident and injury, but then is relieved by a kindly woman who puts his emotions over the top again with her charity. But there are mystic overtones to everything. The speaker encourages allegorical interpretation by his own enunciated thoughts that see more, even in his difficulties. Until, that is, the knee injury disables him as a pilgrim by bringing high-strung feelings to despair. After the next stage in gathering wisdom, though, he can not only stand but fly! Rather than provide my lengthy reading, I’ll go straight to points you, the poet (and pilgrim, I suppose), need to clarify for me. I see red in two places of that epiphanic sixth stanza: the pilgrim’s knee bleeds red, and it paints the stones that did the harm. Then there appears a woman with most unusual looks for the location: she has red hair. And she comes through a whirlwind, which probably add multiple touches of significance to the scene. Would love to have your explication, Brian. Of course I know why there are seven stanzas of seven lines each. This is near enough perfection for it to become instantly one of my favorites among your works. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you for your very generous comment, Margaret. Thank you especially for noting the choice of stanza lengths and numbers. And, as you have correctly surmised, there are Kabbalistic aspects to this poem — particularly the things you singled out. (There are others, such as the symblism of a mishap while climbing steps, but I will save that for another time.) Here, the issue is distilled down to my use of the color red. The color red has very deep Kabbalistic significance as it relates back to the Torah itself, which regarded as the “blood” of the cosmic body – the flow of divine influence that extends to every “cell” of creation, imbuing it with the breath of life, nourishing and developing it, and combating the negative forces that threaten to corrupt it. The color red also represents the desire to receive wisdom and, finally, it signifies protection against evil. This goes all the way back to the blood on the doors that the Hebrews are instructed to paint on in Exodos to keep them safe from the Angel of Death. You may, from time to time, see Kabbalists wear red string bracelets with seven knots as a guard against evil and an expression of the desire to receive wisdom. In my poem, I wanted the speaker to also suffer and undergo a sacrifice for the wisdom he was to find. The bleeding was a mishap and yet, in a colony of artists, it is likened to the creative act of painting rather than being seen as a loss. In that regard, this might be a “felix culpa” type of situation for, despite the pain it causes, it inadavertently leads to the greatest lesson of divine wisdom of all – the deep value of charity. In that regard, it is compatible with, without necessary foreshadowing, Christian thinking. This inadvertence is also quite importanat to me for one can search and search and search but it is often the accidental event that finally leads to insight. God is in charge even if He is not obvious about it. The Bride is a subjective projection of the speaker. For him she becomes the personification of the spirit of Shabbat, even though she is, in reality, a kindly baker who is getting ready for Shabbat but who sees his distress and rushes to help him and get him back on his feet. She is then also seen as an angel, which is why her charity and the spiritual force implicit behind it in this unique setting, allow his soul to finally rise on metaphoric wings. The whirlwind is important simply because biblically-speaking, God speaks out of the whirlwind. This is especially so in the Book of Job – not that my speaker’s misfortunes come anywhere near to his sufferings. And that red hair ties her back to the previous sacrifice and creation and that “flow of divine influence” I reference above. And the spiritual openness — that desire to receive. Red hair has historically been strangely common in Ashkenazi Jews. Even with only one Jewish parent, I myself had carrot red hair and a constellation of freckles until I turned 12! Thank you again, Margaret, for asking and allowing me to give them insight into the thought behind this poem. I’m very glad that you like it! Reply
Cheryl Corey June 12, 2024 Since much is made of the Palestinian so-called “right of return”, your first poem sheds light on the hypocrisy of Muslim majority countries that expelled their Jewish populations. The statistics you included bear this out. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you very much, Cheryl, for this comment. I was so hoping someone would make this observation. That claimed “right of return” is a Trojan Horse intended to destroy the only Jewish state. For heaven’s sake, there are 23 Arab countries. Israel is 8,522 square miles. The Arab world is 5,148,014 square miles. It is 604 times bigger than Israel — and it refuses to accept Jews — and yet it is Israel which is trashed for daring to exist as a Jewish state? And not one of those Arab states can help the Palestinians other than by shipping bombs and instigating antisemitic demonstrations? When it comes to the way Israel is treated internationally, good faith does not exist. Reply
Joshua C. Frank June 12, 2024 The first poem is an impressive summary of facts to set the record straight regarding Israel and its Muslim neighbors (I’d better not get any more into it because thinking about how the left keeps stabbing Israel in the back makes me livid), but it’s the second one I’m really drawn to, as I love a poem that really immerses me in the experience, as if it were its own self-contained world in a space visible from the speaker’s vantage point. The personification of the Sabbath as a bride is interesting; I don’t recall seeing this in the Bible. It reminds me of priests who joke that their breviaries, from which they’re obligated to pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day, are their wives. It’s also interesting to see all the details you give in your response to Margaret’s comment. Anyway, it’s really good. Maybe one of your best. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 12, 2024 Thank you so much, Josh! Thank you for sticking with the first poem even though it’s challenging to deal with the facts stated. It gets me upset to read it even now, and I wrote the darn thing! But somewhere, somehow the truth has to come out and it needs to be respected. Otherwise, we’re never actually facing the problems that are out there. Leftists don’t want the facts. They want to do whatever cherrypicking supports their narrative — in this case their Palestinianv-victimization narrative. And if facts don’t help that narrative, to hell with them. What does that say about them? I’m thrilled that you liked my “Village of Galilean Mystics.” As painful as “Driven” was to write, “Villages” was a joy. I’ve been to Israel twice but still have not made it to Tzfat. We were all set to go on a special tour of Galilee with a full day in Tzfat in May of 2020 but Covid restrictions ruined those plans. I pray that this pilgrimage may yet take place. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant June 13, 2024 Brian, I am arriving late to your poems and much has been covered in the most intriguing and enlightening comments section – all down to the power of your marvelously conceived and adeptly conveyed words. It is evident that an awful lot of thought and effort has gone into both of these fine works. Firstly, I would like to thank you for bringing hard facts and figures to the fore in “Driven from Their Homes”. There are many out there condemning the Jews without full knowledge of the history or the present horrors. When one sees the bigger picture in a stark and heart-rending poem, together with the math in black and white, it puts a fresh and broader perspective on this situation – one that needs to be taken into consideration before picking sides based on MSM manipulation. “Village of Galilean Mystics” is something very special indeed. Although aware of the symbolism within the poem, I had little knowledge of the meaning. I am most grateful for your conversation with Margaret – it has enabled me to enjoy this poem to its glorious full. In my initial reading, I was struck by this line: “with this storm I can’t transcend Earth’s plane.” – yet the poem goes on to show exactly the opposite, and that journey, leading to care and wonder, moved me greatly. I have had such moments. Just when I think life on earth is a little too tough for my heart to cope with… I am lifted to heavenly heights by someone or something that tells me the exact opposite. I may not have grasped the symbolism, but the sentiment shines brightly and beautifully. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 13, 2024 Thank you so much, Susan! The antisemitism that has become so rampant in recent months is one of the things that pushed me into writing this poem and presenting the cold, hard facts of what occurred to the Jews and why Israel is the only reliable Jewish haven in the world. I’m glad that this was able to give you a fresh perspective. MSM manipulation is terribly powerful and terribly unfair. I’m also so pleased that you liked “Galilean Mystics.” I relate fully to those moments when “life on earth is a little too touch…” Those moments in life when we encounter angels garbed in human form who help us out of that dark place are so special. It’s amazing how such people can enter our lives just when we need them! Reply
Lannie David Brockstein June 13, 2024 Brian, first it was the ancient Jewish communities in the Middle East and North Africa that were destroyed by the Muslim supremacists. Nowadays, except in Israel, it is the ancient Christian communities in those countries that are being destroyed by the Muslim supremacists. Furthermore, around 100 churches in Canada during the past several years have been vandalized, damaged, or burned to the ground. This past Sunday (June 9th, 2024), most of the St. Anne’s Anglican Church (1907-08) in Toronto, which is Canada’s largest city, burned to the ground: Rebel News (June 11th, 2024) – “ANOTHER church goes up in flames — are Canadians noticing a pattern?”: https://odysee.com/@RebelNews:9/another-church-goes-up-in-flames-%E2%80%94-are:2 It is the same story in Europe, including in 2019 when most of the Notre-Dame de Paris burned to the ground. Thank you Brian, for having helped to shine a light on the evil history of Muslim supremacism. From Lannie. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 13, 2024 Thank you so much for this appreciative and instructive comment, Lannie. I had no idea about the many churches that are under attack in Canada — this is something which horrifies me! And, yes, people don’t seem to remember or even really register how much Christian communities are under attack in the Muslim world. Why are people so blind to the fruits of Islamic fundamentalism? Do people — especially globalists — ever once ask themselves why do so immigrants come FROM Muslim countries to Europe, America and the West without there being any reciprocal emigration of Westerners TO Muslim countries? If we’re all one big human global family shouldn’t the desire to spread into Muslim countries be as common as the desire to leave them? Get a leftist to answer that one. Reply
Joseph S. Salemi June 13, 2024 Good luck on getting a left-liberal to answer any question honestly. I used to ask them this: “Why are there thousands of East Germans who want to get into West Germany, but no West Germans who have the slightest desire to go live in East Germany?” They never gave me a straight answer. But I was always marked down as “the enemy” after that.
Joshua C. Frank June 13, 2024 Of course. Left-liberals have to keep the self-deception going, otherwise they’ll have to abandon their left-liberalism, as I did in my twenties because (to make a long story short) I couldn’t keep fooling myself anymore.
David Whippman June 19, 2024 Brian, “Driven from Their Homes” is a well-written poem, an informative history lesson, and a call for true justice, all rolled into one. I’d like it to be compulsory reading for all the pro-Palestine idiots currently causing mayhem. Work like yours is badly needed when (for instance) in the UK, the state broadcaster didn’t even report the attempted murder of Jews by an Islamist in London. (He was found guilty, but not sent to prison.) Thank you. Reply
Brian A. Yapko June 19, 2024 Thank you very much, David. A comment like this helps keep me going when I otherwise get quite discouraged. I think it’s important to write poetry of this nature — I hope for it to be good poetry but to also be educational. I so wish I had the power to renew people’s sense of justice based on actual facts and history rather than on loud and popular views — views which are based on a fictitous rewriting of history in which passions have been stoked to the point where they don’t even realize how unjust their loud cries for justice actually are. This is what happens when history gets faked, redacted, rewritten to support ideology. The antisemitism you describe is heartbreaking but now an increasingly common affair. I fear that the momentum is so strong that something truly tragic and world-changing is going to have to occur to restore sanity and a respect for actual history. But as for the present, it seems there are no fair trials anymore. Reply
David Whippman June 21, 2024 Sadly I must agree. I’ve thought for quite a while that it’s a question of when – not if – a pro-Palestinian in the UK (doubtless the US too) murders Jewish people. I hope I am wrong, but as you say, the momentum has built so much.
