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Star of David
My mother gave me nothing
But the sweet lullaby
Singing softly to her baby girl
“Shema Yisrael, Adonai eloheinu, Adonai echad…”*
Her eyes aglow as she whispered
How she never knew her past
My father hung the Mahagin David**
From my neck
And blessed me with the cleansing waters.
He rasped the blessings over the
Hannukah candles and
Prayed over the Sedar dinner.
My grandmother told me
Of where I came from
My great-grandparents a classic love story,
On the boat from Kiev,
And breaking rapidly into Yiddish,
The words pass me over like a tide.
I am one Jew, with Russian blood,
And a half-filled soul with the knowledge
Of my heritage.
* “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is your God, the Lord is one…”
** Star of David
