We are all waiting for all this to end
All this terror at home and abroad
In Jerusalem in Hebron and in Be'er Sheva
In Paris in London in San Bernardino
The knife the assault rifle the explosive device
The fear
But there is hope
There are stories like the story of Joseph
Who emerges from the darkness of an Egyptian prison
To become a ruler
There are stories like the story of the Maccabees
Who banish the impurity
And renew the purity in God's house
And the candle burns
And each night another candle is added
Another small lighthouse
Another emblem of hope
And I stand before the Chanukah menorah
And I remember how I came from Canada
With the Chanukah dreidel (spinning top)
Whose message in four letters was
Nun gimel hey shin – standing for
Nes gadol haya sham (A great miracle happened there)
And how I arrived in my country, Israel,
With the dreidel
Whose message in four letters is
Nun gimel hey peh – standing for
Nes gadol haya po (A great miracle happened here)
To move from "there" to "here"
Nun gimel hey lamed – standing for
Nes gadol haya li (A great miracle happened to me)
Written in Beer Sheva on Dec. 8, 2015