Psalms In The Heart

"The Bridge of Baal HaSulam" I walked with pockets full of dreams, And shoes with holes that leaked in streams. The path was steep, the sky was torn, I cursed the day that I was born. Then came a man with eyes of flame, Who called my sorrow out by name. He said, “Child, your grief’s not random fate, It’s bait to pull you to Heaven’s gate.” He laughed at my pride, and slapped my despair, Said, “The Creator put both in your hair. One’s to lift, the other to bend, Both are tools to reach the end.” “The world,” he said, “is a crooked hall, With mirrors that trick and shadows that call. But if you link arms, all hearts as one, You’ll find the doorway back to the Sun.” And so we walk, in mud and in light, Some days we stumble, some nights we fight. But oh, when a friend takes your burden to bear— You feel the Creator already there. So thank you, Rav, for the map and the song, For showing the weak where the strong belong. In the end we will laugh at the pain we have known, For...

🎭 Poem: "Elul Blues (The Ballad of the Brokenhearted Beloved)" Style: Bitter-sweet blues with a wink of holy foolishness I woke up in Elul with a heart full of holes, My coffee was bitter, my soul felt old. “I am my Beloved’s,” I tried to recite— But my Wi-Fi was down and the Light was in flight. I put on my tefillin and sang a sad song, "Where are You, Beloved? What took You so long?" But the heavens were silent, just like my phone, And the will to receive said, “You’re on your own.” I danced with my sorrow, my pain wore a grin, My ego laughed, “He won’t let you in!” Still, I knocked and I cried, with a love that won’t quit— And the answer came back: “You ain’t earned it yet.” So I fasted from reason, feasted on faith, Marinated my heart in a doubt-laced wraith. Each mitzvah I did with a tear and a joke, Like grilling a steak with no meat or smoke. “I’ll love You,” I whispered, “though I’m broke and bruised, Though my vessels are shattered, and my soul'...

Oh, soul, you clumsy spark of light, Dropped from the heavens, a comical sight! You tripped on a star, fell into this clay, Now stuck in a body, you grumble all day. “Why this mess?” you moan with a frown, This world’s a circus, and I’m the clown! (Humor’s the balm when the ego’s a pain, You laugh through the mud, or you’ll go insane.) Love calls you softly, a whisper, a flame, “Connect with the others, forget your own name!” Baal HaSulam nods from his perch in the sky, “Give up your ‘me,’ and your soul will fly high.” You try, oh you try, with a heart full of care, But your neighbor’s loud snoring? Too much to bear! Yet love’s the glue, the spark, the divine, It stitches the world with a thread so fine. Sorrow creeps in, like a thief in the night, The soul feels the fracture, the absence of light. You chase fleeting pleasures, but they slip away, Like sand through your fingers, they just won’t stay. “Why this longing?” you cry, with a tear-streaked face, This world feels too heavy, to...

The Battle Within Life is a wonder, a challenge to be had, An internal battle that makes one sad. Obstacles approaching from every side— What are these obstacles giving us a ride? They come when we try to reveal What the ego has cleverly concealed. We struggle and fight inside every day, Trying to reveal the truth in a new way. We stumble through shadows, chasing the light, Wrestling with doubt in the dead of night. Each thought a mirror, each pain a guide, Each crack revealing what's buried inside. The ego it whispers, “Stay safe, don't move,” But the soul yearns fiercely its path to prove. We rise, we fall, yet still we try, To grasp the purpose hidden in why. In friends we find the strength to see, The chains that bind and how to be free. Through love and unity, walls collapse, As truth awakens between the gaps. So if you're weary, don't lose your flame— The battle within is not in vain. Each step through sorrow, doubt, and fear, Draws the Creator ever near.

In synagogue’s hush, where whispers take flight, I call to the heavens with all of my might. But oh, how I fumble, my words all askew, My pride’s like a rooster, who struts and who crows too! With sorrow I see it, my heart’s selfish beat, It loves its own shadow, it craves its own seat. I thought I was worthy, more pious, more grand, Yet truth laughs at falsehood, and I’m but a man. The pain of my lowliness stings like a thorn, My flaws laid bare, in truth I’m reborn. No wisdom I boast, no virtue to claim, Just love for the One who can heal all my shame. Oh, Creator of truth, hear this fool’s humble plea, I’m farthest from You, yet I long to be free. No finery here, just a soul worn and bare, In truth I now call You—please show me You’re there! With a chuckle I see it, my ego’s grand jest, It thought it could bargain, be better than best. But love pulls me closer, through pain’s bitter gate, In truth’s simple mirror, I’m near to Your state.

🌿 “From the Bottom of My Foolish Heart” I’m tired of my clever lies, Creator, see me bare, This heart’s a crooked salesman with discount love to share. I promised You mountains, I offered the sky, But tripped on my ego and fell for my lie. I’m broken and bankrupt, my credit is gone, I spent all my merits on cocktails at dawn. I tried to be holy—wore halos askew, But laughter erupted, You saw it was true. So here in the gutter of want and of sin, I’m shouting for mercy to let Your light in. No more negotiations, no cunning appeal, Just grant me the courage to love what is real. My will to receive is a cunning old fox, He sold me for peanuts and ran with the box. He laughs at my sermons, he naps through my prayers, While my soul’s in the basement, tied up to the chairs. Yet somewhere beneath all this circus and noise, A small, trembling child remembers Your voice. He weeps and he pleads with tears not so smart: “Creator, please rescue the bottom of my heart.” Give m...

Prayer of the Heart In the silence where thoughts dissolve, My heart, a vessel, seeks to evolve. Beyond the mind’s restless sway, It cries for truth, for the sacred way. Oh Creator, You who know my core, My will to receive, I cling to no more. Its weight, its pull, binds me to dust, Yet my heart yearns for a will that’s just. Not with words the mind may weave, Nor logic’s chains that strive to deceive, But with a fire, raw and deep, My heart’s demand rises from its sleep. Correct me, Lord, let my soul align, With Your light, Your love, Your will divine. To bestow, to give, to mirror Your grace, To see Your truth in every face. Strip the veils that cloud my sight, Let my heart burn bold in Your holy light. No thought can hold this fervent plea, Only my heart’s cry sets my spirit free. Oh Source of all, hear this prayer I send, Not from my mind, but where my soul bends. Transform my will, let it seek to bestow, That I may dwell where Your mercies flow.