Midrash for a Daughter
Psalm 133
1 Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Do you feel the discomfort, the roughness of edges that rub against each other?
Let us smooth away the prickles, release the words thrown into a heap—
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down the skirts of his garments.
I recall washing your hair with special shampoo. The doctor said, "Just rub the scaly spots until they soften and then comb them away."
"What's in my hair?" you asked.
"A bit of psoriasis, inherited from Uncle Murray. The same uncle who brings bagels and cream cheese on Sunday morning."
I added prayers to the shampoo—lather mixed with "Jesus, please."
By fourteen only a dime size spot on your elbow remained.
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life evermore.
Remember when we climbed Old Rag Mountain? Three friends and four children scrambling over granite boulders, through rock squeezes, past Trillium, Mountain Laurel, Seas of Bluets, to the summit. Remember how we took off our boots and socks at the summit? We passed around ointment for blisters.
Who carried the small book of psalms to the top?
We took turns reading and passing around gorp.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Psalm 97:5
1 Behold how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Do you feel the discomfort, the roughness of edges that rub against each other?
Let us smooth away the prickles, release the words thrown into a heap—
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down the skirts of his garments.
I recall washing your hair with special shampoo. The doctor said, "Just rub the scaly spots until they soften and then comb them away."
"What's in my hair?" you asked.
"A bit of psoriasis, inherited from Uncle Murray. The same uncle who brings bagels and cream cheese on Sunday morning."
I added prayers to the shampoo—lather mixed with "Jesus, please."
By fourteen only a dime size spot on your elbow remained.
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life evermore.
Remember when we climbed Old Rag Mountain? Three friends and four children scrambling over granite boulders, through rock squeezes, past Trillium, Mountain Laurel, Seas of Bluets, to the summit. Remember how we took off our boots and socks at the summit? We passed around ointment for blisters.
Who carried the small book of psalms to the top?
We took turns reading and passing around gorp.
The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Psalm 97:5
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