Before I Took Up This Journey
Before G‑d opens his fist
to let a soul gently descend into this world,
He whispers a name, an occupation, a future bride:
“So-and-so, the architect
will marry so-and-so, the teacher’s daughter.”
If I lie asleep in my bed—
wherein the sages say a man’s soul goes back,
and he is partly dead—
if you must rouse me,
please, my wife,
do not even place your small hand
on my shoulders,
but whisper my name,
remind me that I am such-and-such a man
and you are the dark-haired daughter of so-and-so,
chosen for me
before I took up this journey.
From G‑d’s Optimism by Yehoshua November
Before i took up this journey: echo & dreams after my divorce, i got a job &, for a short time,
shopped at an unkosher marts where they had a large section of asian food.
dumplings are just like kreplach, i reasoned.
Catching my gaze, the salt & pepper haired man in front of me, peering over into my basket, said, : "O that is how you shop"
& then, "Just shaking it up a little, i see".
(Could he know i was hiding the emergence of more than a few chastisements in that foreign kleplach?)
And just when i turned my gaze to arrange those GMFs on the factory belt -
he abruptly ran from the mart to meet his friend who was coming in the Exit door -
I looked over to find his wallet, as it lay on the counter & thought: trust, compassion, kindness & wisdom ... from a stranger (?!)
Just as quickly he came flying back,
Not at all worried about his wallet.
Though i met his gaze he did not look back to see the next expression but i continued to look after him,
touched that he had trusted in my 'honest' face.