From a book I’m reading of collected Yiddish poems by Abraham Heschel, called “The Ineffable Name of God”, written in Yiddish, when he was young in Berlin. I love to consider what people were pondering when young, it usually yields into the fruits of their later years—the trees which eventually grow, and shade others!
Such passion drips between his youthful spiritually hungry lines. Nice to hear him when he was younger, and wrestling with and for the blessing, aware of both the mystical and the practical needs on earth…but always slightly tearing the veil between heaven and earth! Trying to translate between the two, as am I today!
Or, as the writer on the back of the book puts it: “Like Herbert, Donne, like Blake, he is God-haunted; his lyrics are steeped in the mystic’s longing to tear away the curtain that conceals the divine radiance and (sometimes) God’s tears.” (Best review ever!) These guys are always my favorite types of people!
Trying to read these in Hebrew, but the english is good also. Anyways, I like these excerpts, fun learning from those processing and becoming their journeys through art:
“Trees from all of the forests!
You all know me well
from alonesesses together,
from a love,
from a secret love.”
And this one:
“My songs are organs set in human ears.
Bless me, my spirit
with tenderness instead of might!”
“And may my way through rooms be
like finger-touches on piano keys.
Tenderness, you ineffable name of God,
be my image of God!”
And lastly,
“To keep my imaginings overflowing
with your never-ending image.”
And from a poem entitled,
“God Follows me everywhere!
God follows me like a shiver everywhere.
My desire is for rest; the demand within me is: Rise up,
See how prophetic visions are scattered in the streets.”
Blessed are the poets for trying, for poetry is, in the end, as a medium or genre, about intimate essential relationship, and dialogue with and into one another. Poetry as a genre symbolizes intimacy! That’s what poetry itself symbolizes—the inner life, in close proximity with whatever it honors, knows and loves the most. Poetry extracts and expresses the essence of the matter, and our own essential nature gets formed as we encounter “the absolute of the other”. Poetry is overflow from depth encounter. And is transformative to the level the poet has been transformed by the conversation.
Makes sense, that this teacher would start his journey in poetry and end in poetic theological action, social justice, ecumenism with especially christians, and teaching. For the priestly in prayful poetic encounter, precedes the fuller incarnation and is foundational.” To the degree we meet God, we are able to express Him on earth!” Action stands on prayer and love, as one anonymous monk put it!
Enjoying Heschel’s young poetry anyways! And fun and humbling trying to translate yiddish wisdom. I forgot how many implied vowels there are! It forces you to read between the lines, so to speak!
, so many special little notes from friends all over the world: friends numbers and addresses, recommending parks in Krakow, places to eat in berlin, art communities to stay at in Paris (which i did!), best art openings in and small galleries in Antwerp..and so many tiny lists of favorite books and bands, i collected in conversations as I traveled.
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