It's All One

A long week it's been
With news so insane
First horror
Then pain
And prayers
For those who remain
The tears flow
We beg and plead
Do another good deed
Say more tehillim
Cry more tears
And then...
After eight years
A new piece
Of news
He's been released!
A free man
Rubashkin is allowed
Out
Crowds
Of people
Go out
To greet him
People dance freely
Singing songs of hope
Singing songs of unity
What a community
So much love
To the One Above
For making this happen
At precisely this moment
But deep inside
Our hearts
There's still a big hole
A gaping hole
A broken heart
Because
A family
Just shattered
Ripped apart
Torn to threads
From their beds
Peaceful sleep
Interrupted
Now they've been corrupted
No more peace
Just pain
No more calm
No way
In one day
Or just a night
Everything changed
This family's plight
Is at the mercy
Of the One Above
Is this mercy?
Is this love?
How can it be
That something so terrible
Also is an expression
Of love
And mercy?
We learn it
We know it
We teach it
We preach it
Does this show it?
Is this love?
To tear apart a family?
To destroy a home?
To pull lives away?
We know in our heads
That it's coming from you
We know in our minds
That it's all from you
We know everything
You do is good
We know it all
But...should
We not question?
We have questions
This makes no sense
In our heads
And our hearts
How can this be
Good?
We say in shema
That everything you do
Whether it looks harsh like din
Or seems like a reflection
Or your mercy
Hashem elokeinu
Both aspects of your
Character
Of your actions
Hashem
The good,
The kind
The merciful
The One Who finally redeemed
Released
Sholom Mordechai
Rubashkin
That is a sign
Of your mercy
So divine
Yet, you are also
Elokeinu
Strict and punishing
Full of judgement
You caused
A family
A home
To go up
In flames
And now
Only a few
Still remain
In this earth
Left here to struggle
For the rest of
Their lifetime
They'll struggle to move on
To face the world
To deal with whatever remains
This is judgement
This is your strict, harsh side
But we are taught
Hashem echod
It's all ONE
All of this
The good
The bad
The compassion
And the judgement
All really come from
Your compassion
Even the things
That seem like
A reflection
Of your judgement
Things like a fire
That consume a family
That consume a nation
Along with the clear
Open celebration
When we know
And we see
Perfectly
That it's Your Hand
That it's Your Compassion
Making this happen
Both those things
Come from Your Goodness
It's all part of
The greater good
Which we cannot see
And we can't understand
While we live down here
In this polluted, unclear land
We will continue to pray
We will continue to cry
We will cry, "ad masai"
For we don't understand
We want to get out
Of this polluted, unclear land
We will hope for change
We will hope for refuos
And continued miracles
For a family that's relying
On us
On our tefillos
On our kabalos
So they can be mekabel
The ones they lost
So we can all be mekabel
One day we will all greet
The ones we hope to meet
The ones who have a seat
At our tables
In our hearts
Even though we're far apart
We pray
For the day
When we will all say
This is what we were
Waiting for
Hoping for
Dreaming of
Wishing for
Praying for
And until then
Hashem
Please infuse us
With strength
With the ability
To keep going
To keep moving
To keep praying
To keep hoping
And to keep believing
In you.