Fifty years ago my sister 
got stung by a jellyfish,
and she hasn’t gone back in the ocean.
I’ve never been stung so much
that I wouldn’t go back.

In green waters suspended with sand,
soft-bodied swimmers I cannot see 
brush against me as I glide by.

Just imagine—not ever going under,
always in air and not in water,
never feeling the wonder
of an alien element all around.
                        

In ancient days, God sought refuge 
in the Holy of Holies within 
the Tabernacle of the Temple,
but where could God remain
once the Temple was destroyed?

After the edifice of stone 
was crumbled into dust, 
the rabbis made a spiritual temple
of prayer and observance
on a foundation of time.

To protect God, who hates sin,
they made a fence around the Torah,
a bulwark of commandments
to keep us from straying
or accidentally sinning.

A sage who was once called
the wisest of the wise 
abandoned Judaism to live like a pagan, 
unable to reconcile his belief in God
with the injustice in the world.

From time to time he appeared 
like a shadowy figure in the rabbis’ thoughts,
an alternative conception,
when they sought to reconcile
the dilemma of why the wicked thrive,
and the righteous are cut down,
although God is good and all-powerful.

The rabbis found an explanation
in the world to come, where suffering 
is redeemed, reparations are made, 
injustice reversed,
and we draw close to God. 

For grave infractions and sins,
the Biblical priests and prophets
advocated harsh punishments—
lashing, stoning, amputation, and death.

Yet, the rabbis of the Talmud claimed
that in the days of the Temple,
when Judea was self-governing,
and its high court was supreme,
capital punishment was rarely enforced.

The worst punishment the rabbis meted out 
was herem, or excommunication.
To be cut off from the Jewish community
was to be denied one’s share
in the world to come.

The rabbis constructed a fence
of conditions that shields us
from the harshest decrees 
of the priests and prophets.
Just as God needs protection from us,
we need protection from God.