by Joel Savishinsky
It seems that long ago,
there was a strong streak
of antisemitism in Egypt.
Something about domestic servitude.
Lots of salty sweat;
construction jobs performed
by undocumented people.
A labor leader arose—the usual kind
of suspect: Jewish, bearded,
an immigrant, messianic inclinations
—and he called a strike. There were
threats of retribution. There
were counter-threats, something
about nasty stuff, plagues.
Death threats, sacrificial animals,
an angel making overhead
surveillance flights—
possible early versions of
Jewish space lasers—
lambs' blood smeared on doorways,
a kind of warning, a kind of sign
to leave us alone. Then there was
an expulsion order. Many waters to cross...
that kind of thing. The people crossed over.
It was not the Hudson. The promised land
was not, contrary to rumors, New Jersey.
Apparently, some of the descendants of
the people who got across the water are
now persecuting another people
—also Semites, as it turns out—who live where
the former slaves’ ancestors used to live.
It is a sad cycle.
Those who have a sense of history and
its tragic ironies now raise their wine glasses
and say, with tears in their eyes, Oy vey.
We should know better.
We could do a lot better than this.
there was a strong streak
of antisemitism in Egypt.
Something about domestic servitude.
Lots of salty sweat;
construction jobs performed
by undocumented people.
A labor leader arose—the usual kind
of suspect: Jewish, bearded,
an immigrant, messianic inclinations
—and he called a strike. There were
threats of retribution. There
were counter-threats, something
about nasty stuff, plagues.
Death threats, sacrificial animals,
an angel making overhead
surveillance flights—
possible early versions of
Jewish space lasers—
lambs' blood smeared on doorways,
a kind of warning, a kind of sign
to leave us alone. Then there was
an expulsion order. Many waters to cross...
that kind of thing. The people crossed over.
It was not the Hudson. The promised land
was not, contrary to rumors, New Jersey.
Apparently, some of the descendants of
the people who got across the water are
now persecuting another people
—also Semites, as it turns out—who live where
the former slaves’ ancestors used to live.
It is a sad cycle.
Those who have a sense of history and
its tragic ironies now raise their wine glasses
and say, with tears in their eyes, Oy vey.
We should know better.
We could do a lot better than this.
Author's note: Midrash: an ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures, attached to the Biblical text.
Joel Savishinsky is a retired professor of anthropology and gerontology, and the author of the collection Our Aching Bones, Our Breaking Hearts: Poems on Aging. A Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, his work has appeared in The New York Times, Passager, and Willawaw. His book Breaking the Watch: The Meanings of Retirement in America, won the Gerontological Society of America’s annual book award. He has been leading family Passover Seders for many years.
