Moshe
Moshe Rothblum, the Jewish Boss
wrote the standard, a Jewish camp melody
from Sinai itself
A Valley boy
humble like an anti-Moses
surely has his ticket to the promised land
Half the reason we keep Shabbat
is because of the notes he strung together
Oh the claps we’ve added since the sixties
We leap out of our chair with every ‘shamru
towards the covenant of the Sabbath
Like they first did, In a cabin, in a mountain
for all time
Shlomo
Shlomo Carlenach, the singing Rabbi
Wrote more melodies than anyone can count
Came from a Jewish family older then written records
Got out of Germany before it was too late.
Discovered peace and love in San Francisco
just in time…
Taught, loved, sang, fathered.
People still learn from him like he’s Rabbi Nachman
Like he still walks our halls.
Left us, but didn’t leave us
He turned heaven and earth into song
what he did in six days, is remembered
for all time
Debbie
Debbie Friedman, another Rabbi
as far as I’m concerned. Who invented the melodies
we somehow already knew.
Who showed us the space between the parted waters
Who told us we could walk through that
anytime we wanted.
Who built a new world in the space
of an old one. Who said no one’s more
holy than you. And she was talking about you.
Who ceased her work well before her time
leaving us forever refreshed.
Like it was us who did the work
Like it was us who made the world.