Bread of the Presence - Poem

Lawrence Hall
Mhall46184@aol.com

Bread of the Presence

For Victoria,
In thanks for a gift of challah

For the people of the Word, and of bread:
Manna and matzo are the breads of flight
Of exile and wandering, Passover,
Diaspora, the Pale of Settlement,
And always “next year in Jerusalem…”
But challah is the bread of victory
A double portion of the kindness of G-d
The Temple built again in every home
Where the kitchen table is the Altar
And the blessing begins “Baruch atah…”