I Believe: A Poem
Please remember, contestants, to phrase your answer in the form of a question.
—Alex Trebek, host of Jeopardy!™
I believe with a perfect faith in the coming of the messiah, though he may tarry.
—Late medieval reformulation of Maimonides’ 12th Principle of Faith, Commentary to the Mishna, Sanhedrin, Perek Helek.
In the days of the Messiah, each individual will perfect his soul to its root, and the holy sparks will ascend from their husks, which will become entirely null.
—Restatement of a key doctrine of Lurianic Kabbalah by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (1753–1825).
I believe, with a perfect faith, that the messiah will
be a Jeopardy champion,
whose answers, phrased as questions, will raise sparks of memory
from husks of forgetfulness,
and return us to ourselves.
Suggested Reading

Jews, Revolutionism, and Doublethink
Even in the Gulag, it was difficult to give up the belief in the Revolution. Take Evgenia Ginzburg, for example . . .

Joseph the Righteous
But on the very night in 1737 that Joseph Süss Oppenheimer’s patron suddenly passed away, he, “his servants, and many other court officials were arrested, and soon a special inquisition committee was convened in order to investigate the court Jew’s ‘atrocious crimes.’”

Remembering Harold Bloom
As Harold Bloom's student, I wanted to be transported to the heights of the literary sublime where he always seemed to reside, whatever the cost (it seemed considerable).
Hidden Master
The closer we look at Green's theology, the more radical it turns out to be.
Comments
You must log in to comment Log In