Hear, O Israel

by Leséa Newman (Holyoke, MA)

And these words which I command you today shall be upon your heart.

–Deuteronomy 6:6

A man

A 90-year-old man

A 90-year-old Jewish man

A 90-year-old  Jewish man walking

A 90-year-old Jewish man walking briskly

A 90-year-old  Jewish man walking briskly through his neighborhood

A 90-year-old  Jewish walking briskly through his neighborhood for his daily exercise

A prayer

A 4,000-year-old prayer

A 4,000-year-old Jewish prayer

A 4,000-year-old Jewish prayer printed

A 4,000-year-old Jewish prayer printed carefully 

A 4,000-year-old Jewish prayer printed carefully on a scroll  

A 4,000-year-old Jewish prayer printed carefully on a scroll rolled inside a mezuzah

A mezuzah of gold 

With a six-pointed star

Hanging around his neck

For seventy-seven years

A present from his parents

To connect him

To protect him

Worn upon his heart

Every day since he became a Bar Mitzvah,

A man at age thirteen

Standing proudly on the bima

Chanting loudly from the Torah

All those decades ago

Snatched

Yanked

Snapped

Stolen

The sudden theft

Leaving him bereft,

Stunned, and shaken

By what has been taken,

His veiny fist pressed

To his curved bony chest,

What has always been there

Now nothing but air.

(For Stanley)

Lesléa Newman has created 87 books for readers of all ages including the memoirs-in-verse, I Carry My Mother and I Wish My Father, the novel-in-verse, October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard;  and the children’s books, Gittel’s Journey: An Ellis Island Story, The Babka Sisters, and Ketzel the Cat Who Composed. Her literary prizes include two National Jewish Book Awards and the Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award. Upcoming books in 2026 include the children’s books, Song of the Dead Sea Scrolls; Welcome: A Wish for Refugees; and Something Sweet: A Sitting Shiva Story. For more information about Lesléa, visit her website:  www.lesleanewman.com .