The Promised Land

Photo: Shai Reef

As the heart yearns for the land

As the soul aches for brooks of water

I long for you

For your vivid colors and endless skies

Your desert, forest, and blue coastline

I dream of going home

To this land my soul has known

The ancient, treasured hope

Which has lived for so long in our hearts

Is more than a recited trope

“Next year in Jerusalem”

No, it must be this year

The shofar has been calling

Don’t you hear?

It sings a song

A whisper first, and now a shout

We can no longer falter

With every minor doubt

Our Eternal Guide is beckoning

The God of our forebears

Has been calling

How much longer will we wait?

How much longer

Will we leave it to fate?

Mashiaḥ will bring us home, you say

But He has already opened the gates

Enough, enough

It would have been enough

And yet we linger

And yet we hesitate

What if we try to leave

When it is already too late?

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