Jewish Poetry: "The Jew" by Isaac Rosenberg

[ysabetwordsmith]

Judaism is among the older world traditions. It has a few different branches, particularly between orthodox and modern sects. There's a vivid streak of scholarship and debate here, which is not so common in religion. The religion has survived despite a widespread tendency toward anti-Semitism in much of the world.

Jewish poetry tends to emphasize identity and experience. Poems often explore what it means to be Jewish and how that affects a person's life. There are also poems about God and other aspects of sacred awareness.

Isaac Rosenberg was known both as a Jewish poet and a war poet, although he wrote on many other topics as well. His poems draw from a well of personal experiences, blending introspection with gritty realism. He was killed in action at age 27, leaving much undone.

The Jew
by Isaac Rosenberg

Moses, from whose loins I sprung,
Lit by a lamp in his blood
Ten immutable rules, a moon
For mutable lampless men.

The blonde, the bronze, the ruddy,
With the same heaving blood,
Keep tide to the moon of Moses.
Then why do they sneer at me?

Comments

[bookblather]

This is very stark, very simple-- I had to read it about three times before it really sank in for me. Commonalities, people of the book... I like it.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

Nugget poems like that can take a while to understand fully. You can see what it says instantly, because it's so short, but what it means is so dense that it takes time to unpack. Haiku are often like that too.