Upon the Slaughter
Heavenly spheres, beg mercy for me!
If truly God dwells in your orbit and round,
And in your space is His pathway that I have not found —
Then you pray for me!
For my own heart is dead; no prayer on my tongue;
And strength has failed, and hope has passed:
O until when? For how much more? How long?
Ho, headsman, bared the neck — come, cleave it through!
Nape me this cur’s nape! Yours is the axe unbaffled!
The whole wide world — my scaffold!
And rest you easy: we are weak and few.
My blood is outlaw. Strike, then; the skull dissever!
Let blood of babe and graybeard stain your garb —
Stain to endure forever!
If Right there be — why, let it shine forth now!
For if when I have perished from the earth
The Right shine forth,
Then let its Throne be shattered, and laid low!
Then let the heavens, wrong-racked, be no more!
— While you, O murderers, on your murder thrive,
Live on your blood, regurgitate this gore!
Who cries Revenge! Revenge! — accursed be he!
Fit vengeance for the spilt blood of a child
The devil has not yet compiled…
No, let that blood pierce world’s profundity,
Through the great deep pursue its mordications,
There eat its way in darkness, there undo,
Undo the rotted earth’s foundations!
Translated by Abraham M. Klein
Copyright 1948 by Histadrut Ivrit of America
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
