POEM: First Knowledge
Image by Getty Images
Translated from the Hebrew by Ariel Resnikoff and Rivka Weinstock
Kisses to the wall
Kisses to the alphabet that hung there
& the trash-man asks me:
You still haven’t conquered
The alphabet? – No
Still no! First
Knowledge fear of heaven, in the first
Letter, aleph.
Secrets of secrets
In aleph! Kisses to the wall
There in the place where the aleph hung.
From “Shirei Malon Tsion” (“Songs from Hotel Zion”)
Why I became the Forward’s editor-in-chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
, editor-in-chiefSupport our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
