The Donkey I Thought I Saw

I looked at a friend one morning,

And a donkey was all I could see.

His stubborn ways,

His rough edges,

Everything that bothered me.

I carried those thoughts through the day,

Like stones inside a sack.

Each step grew heavier,

Each prayer grew weaker,

And the light would not come back.

Then a whisper rose within me:

"Why are you counting flaws?

Did you come to judge My children,

Or to draw yourself toward the Cause?"

So I looked again at the friend.

This time I searched for his aim.

Past all the noise,

Past all the habits,

And found a spark of flame.

I saw him fighting for connection.

I saw him rise after every fall.

I saw his heart reaching upward,

Though I had never seen it at all.

Then something changed between us.

The distance began to depart.

The faults that seemed so massive

Could no longer fill my heart.

For the Creator hides in the connection,

Not in what separates me and you.

And when I prayed for my friend to find Him,

I found that He was there too.

Now when I see a friend's donkey,

I leave it standing by the road.

And look instead toward his yearning,

Toward the place where he carries the load.

For greatness builds the vessel.

Deficiency tears it apart.

And the Creator is revealed

Where friends make room in the heart.

The Heart Pleads

The heart aches, the body shakes

Foreign thoughts fill my head

The air is hot, blowing a lot

Trying to hear what the Creator said

The heart pleads, dropping to my knees

As the ego won't let me rest

The eyes strain, thoughts constrained

As I reach for my vest

I step outside beneath the sky

Searching where the answers hide

The world keeps moving all around

While storms are raging deep inside

Every road I've walked before

Leads me to the very same place

A man can't win this fight alone

Without a higher strength and grace

Chorus

When my heart can no longer stand

And my feet sink deep in the sand

I whisper softly through the night

"Creator, help me hold the Light"

When the will to receive takes control

And darkness settles on my soul

I raise my eyes and do my part

As You rebuild my shattered heart

The wind still blows, the desert knows

How many tears have touched the ground

Yet every fall becomes a call

Where hidden mercy can be found

So I'll keep walking, keep on knocking

Though the road is rough and long

For every prayer born from despair

Returns one day as strength and song.

The Creator Gathered Us Again

We lifted a prayer without a sound,

For friends whose faces were not around.

Not asking for comfort, not asking for gain,

Only that our hearts be joined again.

Days passed quietly, one by one,

Never knowing what the Creator had done.

Yet deep within His hidden plan,

He guided each step of every man.

Then suddenly joy filled the room,

Replacing distance, removing gloom.

Jean returned with an open heart,

And Oscar came to take his part.

No one can measure the gift we received,

Or the prayer that the Creator conceived.

For what seemed lost was never gone,

It simply waited to be drawn.

Now the ten feels warmer, stronger, whole,

As gratitude rises from every soul.

Not for numbers, not for pride,

But for the love the Creator placed inside.

So today our hearts together sing,

To the One who arranges everything.

With thanks beyond what words can say,

For gathering His friends this day.

The vessel grows, the bond runs deep,

Through every promise we strive to keep.

And with grateful hearts we clearly see,

The friends returned through His mercy.

https://suno.com/s/cOw655ZUdQI8L9qC

Faith on the Road

A farmer plants a seed in spring,

Though no green leaf is there.

He waters earth he cannot trust,

Yet tends it with his care.

A sailor leaves the harbor shore,

Though storms may fill the sea.

He follows stars he cannot hold,

Believing what will be.

A father works from dawn till dusk,

His hands are worn and sore.

He cannot see tomorrow's bread,

Yet knocks on duty's door.

So walks the soul upon the path,

When darkness fills the eyes.

Not knowing where the next step lands,

Yet turning toward the skies.

And righteousness is not a crown,

Nor something one can claim.

It is the heart that justifies

The One behind the game.

To say, "Whatever comes today,

I still will hold the line.

Your wisdom sees what I cannot,

Your purpose is divine."

Then peace arrives without a sound,

Like evening after rain.

Not because every problem's gone,

Or life is free from pain.

But because the heart has learned at last

What all the sages knew:

The hand that asks, the faith that grows,

And the help received are two

Appearances of One great Love

That guides us all the way.

And every step in simple faith

Is righteousness today.

https://suno.com/s/9HylToc631rFdpfU

When I Think of the Creator

When I Think of the Creator

When I think of the Creator, He won't let me sleep

Through it all, Torah and Mitzvot I keep

Never forgetting where I belong

My heart keeps singing the same old song

The world grows quiet, the night grows deep

Yet thoughts of connection I gladly keep

For somewhere beyond what these eyes can see

A path of love is calling me

The ego whispers, "Rest awhile"

But the point in the heart won't reconcile

It longs to rise, it longs to start

To join the friends with one common heart

Each friend a candle, each prayer a flame

Though we are many, the goal's the same

To build a vessel strong and true

Where love of others can break through

So if I wander or lose my way

The Ten reminds me where I must stay

And every longing, every tear

Becomes a call for the Creator to hear

For when I think of the Creator above

I feel His answer through the friends' love

And sleepless nights no longer seem wrong

For that's exactly where I belong.

The Flow Chart

 

The Flow Chart

I spent my life with grease-stained hands,

Following lines no man commands.

A truck rolls in, the engine dies,

The answer's never in the cries.

Check the fuel and check the spark,

Follow the path through light and dark.

A dead battery won't start a ride,

No matter how much pride's inside.

A broken wire, a cracked fuel line,

Each fault revealed one step at a time.

Then Rav would speak, and I would see,

The same damn chart inside of me.

Friend rejects friend, the ego roars,

So check the heart before the doors.

Can't find love? Then check your pride.

Can't see truth? The self's inside.

If connection fails, don't blame the ten,

Go back and trace the chart again.

Annul. Include. Enliven. Pray.

The pathway's always been that way.

The mechanic and the sage agree:

Every repair starts honestly.

And when the vessel's torn apart,

The Creator works... through every part.

THE ROSH DECIDES

 

I came with fish clenched hard in hand,

Certain my hunger should command.

He wanted dogs, another route—

And ego rose with sacred doubt.

I thought the war was food or place,

Not Pharaoh screaming for first place.

I called it “truth,” “concern,” “what’s best”—

But self sat grinning in my chest.

The Ten said move. I wanted still.

The Rosh spoke clear. I fought his will.

Not with fists—much worse than that—

A silent “yes”… while pride fought back.

For brutal is the path of few:

Not proving that my choice is true,

But crucifying inner throne

To build one heart above my own.

What is fish? What are hot dogs? Dust.

What is “my way”? A serpent’s lust.

The meal’s not holy—the work is where

I kill the tyrant hiding there.

Before the choice, I speak my part.

I bring my thought, my mind, my heart.

But once the head has drawn the line—

His path, for us, must now be mine.

Because a body torn by pride

Leaves Light outside with self inside.

A thousand “rights” can break the chain,

While one annulled can summon rain.

So cast the lots. Draw out my fate.

Send me where I did not wait.

And let me bless what ego hates—

For there the gate of Heaven waits.

The Rosh decides. My war begins.

Not out there—no. The war within.

Will I divide… or bend and build?

Will self stay crowned… or self be killed?

For every vote and every meal,

Reveals if what we preach is real.

The Ten is forged when wills collide—

And love remains… though self has died.

So break me, friends. Don’t spare my cry.

Strip “me” until “we” learns to fly.

For only those who choose the whole

Can turn a shattered group… to soul.