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Under my Father’s Tallis
By; Vivianne M Schinasi Silver.(Montreal, Quebec Canada.)
In her introduction she writes
It is a very meaningful poem to me in that it encapsulates my
recollections of a very special time as a young girl going to the Abraham Betesh
synagogue
in Heliopolis....
- Heliopolis, City of Sun...
- "Shem el Nessim", festival of
Spring,
- It is the time of orange blossoms...
- Yom Kippur, nestled against my father,
- Under his tallis,
- I close my eyes...
- The sound of Shofar,
- Transports me to faraway lands,
- Connects me to my people...
- I feel loved, I feel protected, I feel
special,
- The Mena House, Sunday afternoon tea...
- The pyramids and the Sphinx stand
magnificently tall
- against the timeless blue horizon.
- Beni Ezra synagogue in old Cairo,
- Passover’s ritual slaughter of a lamb to
feed the poor.
- Alexandria, wonderful warm summers,
- Bathing in the blue Mediterranean sea...
- Cleopatra, Stanley Bay, Sidi Bishr,
- endless golden beaches...
- The taste of freshly-lemoned sea urchins
lingers on my tongue..
- Warm honey and cinnamon
"loukoumades", stick to my eager fingers....
- At dusk, the scent of roasting corn and
chestnuts fills the air..
- Riding in the open horse and carriage, the
"hantour" along the cornich,
- Necklace and crown of fragrant jasmine, enfold
me,
- complete the magic of the moments. Shabbat,
marble steps lead up to ..
- the hallowed sanctuary of the Nebi Daniel
synagogue.
- Life is like a beautiful dream....
- October 1956... the shrill of sirens pierces
the land of enchantment...
- Blackouts, bombings, taped windows, hushed
whispers...
- huddled in the cellar, the sound of army tanks
rolls heavily on the pavement
- Ugly strange signs appear: "No dogs, No
Jews".
- Darkness and terror replaces sunshine,
flowers, and laughter...
- Another life beckons....
- Good-bye home... Good-bye friends.. Good-bye
forever beloved grandfather...
- Crossings, endless crossings of desert, sea,
ocean,
- clouds, crossings of time, of lives..
- Pure, cold snow of freedom awaits..
- I long for the warmth of my father’s
tallis...
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