Many Messengers, One Message

A holy message is shaped differently by the soul of each of its messengers, and by the needs of those they address it to, and yet it is but one message.

A Vizhen Karvd in 2 Seelz

     Reb Stienbek sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer krop kut down tu the grownd,
"Dust on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay had broke.
"And the chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov iyz,
"Tu see if thaer dadz wer braken.
"But the men did not brake
"And the wimmen held streng
"And the chieldz thay did not hav feer."
     [The Grapes of Wrath, end of chapter 1]

     Reb Kallonnemus Kalmon sed,
"The men taested the akrid aer
"And saw thaer shtettelz kut down tu the grownd,
"Ash on thaer fasez and in thaer iyz.
"And thaer wimmen wocht them
"Tu see if thay lost faeth,
"And thaer chieldz wocht frum kornerz ov roomz
"Tu see if thaer poppaz had lost the Hullakha.
"The menz iyz wer hard, a flint reflekten,
"Struk hard till it sparks and kursen.
"The time of marreev* kame     [* evening prayers]
"And thay gatherd in the dirtee sellerz.
"Abbuv they herd it, 'vehhu rekhuem....'**     [** see 1 below]
"And the wimmen held streng.
"And the chieldz, thay gleend hope."

     And Reb Kalmonz Seel, hiz Aesh Koydesh,**     [** see 2 below]
"We shall be restoren, oh pepel.
"Yu kannot be braken."

**1. "vehhu rekhuem," Hebrew for 'And He, the Merciful,' the words that begin the evening prayers
**2. "Aesh Koydesh," literally "holy fire"; Reb Kalmon's sermons in the Warsaw Ghetto, compiled by his chassidim, and miraculously discovered after the war, in the rubble.]