Tazria

a text about eruptions of the skin
and mothers made unclean for bearing girls
defies a Jew to find the God within
imbuing meaning in an absurd world
evolving ethics face unchanging texts
and strain to find a note that resonates
a sexist lens the thinking mind rejects
persists far past its expiration date
"divrei torah kilshon b'nei adom"
but passing years have changed both tongue and ear
Tazria clunks on Moderns like a bomb
evoking less "amen" than shrug or jeer
our future possibilities are vast
each rooted in rereadings of our past