Introduction to… Torah
A few years ago my friend Noah – an incredible songwriter and also a poet in his own right – introduced me to a Billy Collins piece, “Introduction to Poetry” (you can read it here). I always thought the ideas Mr. Collins conveyed were equally appropriate for Torah study and a very particular type of learning session many of us find ourselves leading.
With sincere respect for Mr. Collins work, here is my edited version:
“Introduction to Poetry Torah”
I ask them to take a poem the Torah
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
I say drop a mouse student into a poem the Torah
and watch him probe his way out,
or walk inside the poem’s Torah’s room
and feel the walls for a light switch.
I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem the Torah
waving at the Author’s name on the shore.
But all they want to do
is tie the poem Torah to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.
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