All that we aspire

Israel is a Land that stands alone

In it's unique ,sublime,transcendent zone

Found in the limits of time but also above

For no matter those who attempt to destroy and shove

Israel survives because of G-d's enduring love.

So many in Israel try to be like any other nation

Missing the secret to meaningful elevation

They try to fit in and in many ways assimilate

In a feeble attempt to avoid some fearsome fate

For only those who are ignorant of their unmatched value

Will look elsewhere with envy and ask "What have you?"

Only as a nation in Israel when we learn to unite and each other inspire.

Will we be a light unto the nations and achieve all that we aspire

Sublime of Heart( Mina Leah)

What will I do without your light
That warms the darkest night

Whom do I find so devoid of anything negative and full of care?
That exudes such a love from a heart beyond compare

I sit in solitude , the memories flood in , taking me oh so far
Whisking me away to a world where you still are

For a second I think, I wish I could stay
For then you would never have to go away

I find some joy in the many tears that flow
For they are testimony to our the deep connection that I was always proud to show

I will meet you every day in my thoughts, deeds and speech

Endeavoring daily to cherish, live and pass on the magnificent example that you us all did teach

Most of all you will live in my heart
For from you I cannot bear to be apart

And so my Gran so good and sublime of heart

this is not the end but a most meaningful start

Mina Leah

Mina Leah, a lady of quality & grace

No matter what she may have to face

So loving , caring, giving and kind

Even when challenged and in a bind

Thinking about others never wanting to be a bother

A light so bright and beautiful like no other

You opened your home with angelic pleasure

Where all & sundry felt a warmth so much more than a treasure

Always caring and full of concern

Looking to help always asking when is it my turn

A hug from you so thorough and whole

As it is from the depths of such a magnificent soul

With amazing love you massaged your grandchildren's feet

they so looked forward to that joyous bedtime meet

Family was paramount yet you found time to volunteer

For so much was your love without match or peer

To write about you one can never truly stop

For all who meet you always land up feeling on top

"Without gratitude what is life"

Without gratitude what is life ?

Good is blurred with the cataract of strife

All that is seen gives reason to complain

So what sits at the forefront is discomfort and pain

Life seems like nothing but dark tunnel vision

With each day making it"s debilitating incision

But the moment we choose to see life as a gift

Everything that was begins to shift

Expectation transforms into appreciation

The blessing of a new day ,a reason for elation

When it hits home that nothing is a foregone conclusion

We start to see the difference between enduring joy and illusion

The smallest things in life revealed as huge

Blessing and miracles become a daily deluge

For they were always around for us to see

As soon as we allowed gratitude to set us free.

Israel-no longer a dream

Israel today no longer a dream

All Exile is ,is blowing off steam

For 2000 years there was many a scream

As in the Desert G-d's word was taken bad

So the children of Israel didn't see what they had

It has taken too long for our eyes to see

That in Israel we belong to truly be free

So time for the dream to go upstream

And Israel to continually be more than they seem

Time for us to stand as one man one heart

Understanding that the best is yet to start

Never forget( remembering the 6 million)

So many of you died on the pyres of world hate

In the nazi darkness because the world did no more than wait

By the time the nations awoke for you it was too late

We cannot forgive them for closing their gate

Clear is the lesson that Jews have no friend

As always with the Jew do their morals bend

From the fires of destruction we built a state

That said no more to other nations dictating our fate

A state that has always known trouble and battle

For it irks the world that we are no longer cattle

But a nation eternal that against all prediction

Survives all the giants who wished her eviction

We will never forget those millions we lost

how tragic and terrible the horrific cost

We will live as a nation eternal standing tall with pride

For our enemies now know it is they that should hide

I am not Breslev, Chabad or Dati Leumi

I continue the tradition of Avraham HaIvri

I am not Belz , Vishnitz, Gur or Satmar

I choose "One man as One Heart" at the foot of the Har

I am not Litivish , Yeshivish,Chardal or Chareidi

I keep it simple and clear leaving no one as a maybe

I am not Modern Orthodox or Open Orthodox

I choose our Traditions Eternal , not the trends ,not even the lox

I am not traditional or secular or free for all

I choose purpose and meaning a reason to stand tall

I am just a Jew with Torah as my light

Leaving G-d to decide when and how others light will shine bright

See the Jew always and not the label

Then maybe Redemption will come willing and able