Courtesy Bracha Meschaninov

Charles Bernstein has effectively argued that National Poetry Month celebrations tend to focus on establishment-endorsed, “blockbuster poets,” and he has reminded us just how much great poetry exists outside of well-known publishing houses and literary journals.

Bernstein’s dictum came to mind when I came across Bracha Meschaninov’s poetry collection “Tender Skin,” published over a decade ago. The collection features gentle, pensive, wonderfully crafted works that appear to be written without much concern for contemporary trends. It is simply good, soulful work, the kind poets write “for themselves,” if for no other reason than to commit to paper the emotional world, spirit’s stirrings, and above all, a certain degree of pain that poetry can’t quite heal, but does illuminate and uplift.

The gravity center of Meschaninov’s inspiration is domestic poetry, ruminations on matters surrounding family life. And so, the two poems we’re featuring today on The Arty Semite are domestic Passover poems. The first piece is a light-hearted, ironic play that brings together “kitchen surfaces” and the “experience of redemption” into one sentence — as indeed tends to happen in the frenzy of holiday logistics. The second poem creates a juxtaposition between outer appearances — “the front” — and the depths concealed behind such appearances. The use of the Hebrew word for Egypt, “Mitzraim,” at the end, hints at the old hermeneutical pun that connects “Mitzraim” with “meitzar” — “confines.” However much confines were broken at the Seder, the poet seems to imply, certain kinds of pain or melancholy simply cannot be transcended, or perhaps even have nothing to do with the experience of redemption as such, but are the very territory of being inescapably human.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Hailing from South Africa, Bracha Meschaninov now lives in Monsey, N.Y. with her husband Ilya and their six children. She’s the founder of the Women’s Torah Learning Circle. Those interested in her book should contact the poet directly.

Pesach

House cleaned
more or less
kitchen surfaces covered
more or less
food ready
more or less
an experience of redemption
more or less

The Seder

We chewed the hand-made bread
of redemption
and wine specially made
children primed for performance… performed
and wonderful guests came and prayed
yet his eyes were sad and her skin showed strain

We left Mitzraim
but in pain we stayed.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount