Sukkot
Yedid Nefesh, Love of my soul,
I enter my sukkah
lushly decked
with the produce of my life
 herbs of wisdoms,
peppermint, sage,
rosemary, basil,
fruits of learnings,
ruby apples,
musky grapes,
juice filled pears.
I drape there
all my deeds,
my hopes,
my downfalls and my desires
amongst which I rest, ready to meet You,
my love.
And there I wait for You
having left my settled habitat,
stripped away all domestication,
abandoning it all
as I ran down the pathway
through the garden beds
into my untamed abode
while breathing in deeply
the fall fresh air
joined by
the birds and squirrels, butterflies and rabbits,
bees and deer and
creatures of the night.
Yedid Nefesh,
dear one of my heart,
You call me to break free of all my restrictions.
You remind me that my soul need soar in the wind,
gasp at the moon's rise, shake free of all confinements.
You formed me wild in my core.
And each year
You woo me out of doors,
by Your side.
And in my small ramshackle Eden,
You restore me,
revive me,
open me wide,
enliven me.
Each fall I hear your call and
shake off my routines
remembering the places we met
when we were young and unrestrained
the wilderness , the mountains,
private gullies, and wadis,
at the drawing of the waters,
in the fields at edge of night,
waking each crack of dawn.
Yedid Nefesh, Soul of my soul,
I race to meet you
beneath the smoky branches of pine,
beneath the golden globe of harvest moon
beneath the canopy of endless stars which fill the heavens.
Enlarge me
Help me find my native self
remember my right place in the universe
what truly has meaning
and then
fill me
once more,
my love,
with wild, rambunctious
Joy.
Photography Credits:
Frank Dobrushken
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