26 Oct Three Days (The Disputation of the Doctors)
The temple reminds God of higher heaven,
A warm shadow of distant dignity,
As scribes and rabbis tried to comprehend
The Torah’s most confounding mystery:
For what did God demand the sacrifice
Of Isaac bound for flames profane-availed,
If Abraham became the faithful heights
For which the kingdom later stood assailed?
Clement a Child spoke precociously:
The spotless lamb unburnt on wooden cross;
In understanding first the mystery,
Aqeda means a diff’rent kind of loss.
A journey three days in the desert there,
Had brought the joy of finding God, somewhere.