When G‑d first shaped
And blessed this space
He had a plan for man:
A beast who’d help
Him run the world
He wanted to create.
An evolving beast,
This man would be,
That struggles to survive,
Spending much of every day
In search of food and mate.
But He’d give to it a will that’s free
To partake in what He’d made,
And provide it with intelligence
To learn what it could be.
He then bequeathed this man a soul,
That it might come to know,
The essence of the whole of things,
To help Him reach His goals.
And with this very holy soul
The man could look inside
To allow him to dispense with strife
And find a happy life.
But the animal within the man,
Has a nature of its own,
That could steal or cheat and even kill
When its will had been denied.
To constrain the beast within each man
He needs to find some gain,
In practicing the sweeter ways
Which G‑d offers to all men.
To make the task more effortless
He entrusted to a clan,
A large but very detailed law,
With which they could be blessed.
The task of those now known as Jews
Was to illumine that bequest:
Others then could freely choose
That which He thought best;
A simple life of decency,
Obeying basic rules,
Helping those who are in need
Would gain His blessings too.
We’re all unique,
But yet we’re one,
With all our roles to play;
To learn to live in harmony
Is what G‑d has decreed.
To respect those things
That each does right,
Give aid when it is just,
And find the ways to form a trust
So all might then be blessed.
G‑d’s greatest gift is simple too,
To grant us happiness,
To form a peace where all can meet,
Expressing gratitude.
- Finding the Light of G‑d, pages 48 and 49
