Better Late than…

ONE HUNDRED FOUR
Rosh Chodesh Kislev
by Debbie Perlman, z”l

Abruptly, the darkness descends upon us.
Your Hand tilts the earth toward colder times
We scurry to close the day’s moments
As sun rays vanish before we are ready.

All the monts we rush about scrambling,
Trying to pack more in each day’s basket,
Fleeing the darkness
By filling the days with lightning steps.

Then, abruptly, Kislev
When our Mothers labored in tents
To birth the Nation Israel.
In their pangs they called upon Your Name.

Women’s voices calling:
Lean upon the Eternal
In the failing light, in pain and darkness.

Gather in new tents.
Move through darkness to the fire-lit places
To praise Your Name together.