H
e a r t S o n s & H e a r t D a u g h t e r s of A l l e n G i n s
b e r g
N
a p a l m H e a l t h S p a : R e p o r t 2 0 1 4 : A r c h i
v e s E d i t i o n
LESLÉA NEWMAN
The
Wood Gatherer Speaks
Once
when the Israelites were in the wilderness,
they
came upon a man gathering wood on the
sabbath day. Those who found him as he was
gathering
wood brought him before Moses, Aaron
and
the whole community. He was
placed in
custody,
for it had not been specified what should
be
done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, “The
man
shall be put to death: the whole community
shall
pelt him with stones outside the camp.” So
the
whole community took him outside the camp
and
stoned him to death—as the Lord had
commanded
Moses. (Numbers 15:32-15:36)
It was a sunny day
It was a cloudy day
It was early morning
It was late afternoon
I was gathering wood to build a fire
to
warm myself
I was gathering wood to build a fire
to
cook myself a meal
I was gathering wood to build a fire
that
was never lit
yet
burns for all time
I still tasted the bitterness of
slavery
and
did not care about keeping the Sabbath
I cared about keeping the Sabbath so
much
I sacrificed my life so others would
remember
I was selfish
I was self-less
Some say my name is Tzelofechad
and my
five brave daughters
Machlah, No’ah, Choglah, Milkah and Tirtzah
are my
legacy
Others insist I am a nameless man
known
only for the worst thing I did
on
the worst day of my life
Here is the truth:
I was gathering wood on the Sabbath
Day
I was warned three times to stop
I was gathering wood on the Sabbath
Day
no
one said a word
I was brought before Moses and Aaron
They put me in custody
Then Moses spoke with God
God said to Moses, Remember the
Sabbath Day and keep it holy
God said to Moses Thou shalt not kill
God said to Moses Take this man
outside the camp
Have the whole community stone him
to death
Moses said to God
Pardon the iniquity of this man
according to
Your great kindness
as
You have forgiven the people Israel
ever
since Egypt
Moses said: nothing
When I heard my fate
I stood still as a stone
I was struck first
by a
rock
the
size of the apple
Eve shared with Adam
I was struck first
by a
small pebble
that
was later placed
on my
grave
The first stone
was
thrown
by
the hand of a stranger
The first stone
was
thrown
by
the hand of a friend
The first stone
was
thrown
by
the hand of my daughter
The first stone
was
thrown
b’ yad Moshe
The stones came hard and fast as
rain
The stones came slowly, a lifetime
apart
I stood upright
I fell to the ground
I cursed God
whom I
did not believe in
I prayed to God
whom I
loved with all my heart
As I lie on the earth
bruised
and broken
a
grasshopper leapt near my face
looked
into my eyes
and
sang a song so sweet
it
broke my heart
and
healed it
The grasshopper died beside me
The grasshopper hopped away
My life ended thousands of years ago
I am alive today
I gather wood on the scrolls of your
Torah
I dance on the fringes of your tzitzit
I wander through the corners of your
mind
as
you sit in shul on Shabbat
and
contemplate
the
meaning of your life
the
meaning of mine
[Poem
reprinted with permission of the author from Nobody’s Mother, Orchard House Press, 2008. Originally
published in NHS 2009, http://www.poetspath.com/napalm/nhs09/Leslea_Newman.htm.]