Yitro

Revelations: Three Kavvanot for Parashat Yitro

1.

“Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought Moses’s sons and wife to him in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God…When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for the people, he said: “What is this that you are doing to the people?” Exodus 18:6

I am the old one

listen to me

before you break yourself against the evenings

before you throw yourself against the mornings

don’t listen to the voice that says

carry the mountain on your back

you will find truth

not in the strong hand

but in the outstretched arms of others

you will find peace

not in parting the sea

but in crossing the soul’s river

you will find love

not in greatness but in weakness

I have come a long way

through the years of your life

through the hours of your regret

through the songs of your kinfolk

through the nights of your liberation

to tell you

lay down the bones of the world

they were never yours

2.

“They came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain. Moses went up to God, for God called to him from the mountain…” Exodus 19:2-3

I am the mountain

veiled in the smoke of my breath

flame in the chambers of my heart

O my friend

who came walking in the tracks of the flock

you took off your shoes

lifted your hands to the fire

burned yourself speaking my name

don’t you remember

I have missed you

we are both so much older now

but you know the paths

the crevices

where the mountain goats spring upward

come, do not be afraid

wash your feet in my rivers

let me open your eyes

see thunder

let me whisper in your ears

hear lightning

I have crouched for centuries

listening for the sound of your footsteps

I am the mountain

the bones of the world

and I am yours

3.

“An altar of earth shall you make for me… and if you make for me an altar of stones, do not build it of hewn stones, for by wielding a sharp edge upon them, you have profaned them.” Exodus 21:21-22

I am the altar

the stone horse

step on my back

and I will carry you to heaven

I am the earth

I am your body

I am your wholeness

I bear the gift of you skyward

I am the tablets

broken and mended

hewn by the hand of God

I am the frail bones of the world

long after you leave the mountain

I will be your mountain