Nisan Jaffee

Former Ornithologist

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Nov 29, 2023, 6:01 AM

A Cry in the Wilderness

בס״ד a leaderless people must fight a never-ending war against a phantom enemy that drinks blood their blood is not shed those who sit in war cabinets with their vision blurred by their own narcissism of what value is the blood of soldiers and butchered hostages to their own ambitions they listen...

Nov 3, 2023, 1:45 PM

Biden and Blinken and Lew

בס״ד Biden and Blinken and Lew, Had no idea what to do, So they got on a plane, To restore, so they claim, The 2-state solution anew. Biden and Blinken and Lew, Can you think this is possibly true, They were given a state, Back in year ’48, And...

Oct 20, 2023, 2:40 PM

Born a New York City boy in nineteen fifty two raised on tales of holocaust we thought that time was through Raised to see all humankind as if we all were kin the content of their character not the color of their skin Make love not war...

Sep 13, 2023, 11:43 AM

The Lord of the Rings, the Jewish People, and Antisemitism

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, two powerful forces, one overwhelmingly strong (evil, the East) and one much weaker (good, the West), engage in an epic struggle. The outcome of this war will determine the fate of...

Jul 28, 2023, 7:36 PM

To Save a People

בס״ד I have never felt Tisha B’Av so strongly as I have this year. So much hatred. Will no one ever learn? Any excuse will do. If this keeps up, is there a point in my remaining? If my dreams turn to dust, should...

Jul 26, 2023, 12:17 AM

Shabbos of Consolation

‎V'eschanan - Shabbos of Consolation Moshe has implored before, And never been rebuffed, He pleads again in this parsha, But now he's told, "Enough". I suggest this plea is different, Than his appeals of other days, He entreated then for his people, Now it's for himself he...

Aug 10, 2022, 8:25 PM

Parsha Poem for V’eschanan

בס״ד V’eschanan Moshe says twice that it’s really our fault, He’s forbidden to enter the land, It’s strange that he lays all the blame upon us, For this Onesh is from his own hand. One moment of anger was all that it took, His patience had...

Aug 3, 2022, 4:34 PM

Parsha Poem for Devarim

בס״ד Devarim Words - they last forever, Once they leave a mouth or pen, Rippling on through time untold, Not to be reeled in again. Through Moshe, dibur is restored, Though he’s difficult of speech, His da’as the voice behind his words, His vision beyond our reach. The Torah...

Jul 27, 2022, 4:33 PM

Parsha Poem for Maaseh

בס״ד Maaseh It’s time that we look back upon, The places where we’ve been, The lessons that we’ve learned from them, The sparks that hid therein. First we came to Midbar Sin, Then reached Midbar Sin-ai, And the journey ends in Midbar Tzin, They sound similar, but why? Does...

Jul 20, 2022, 7:11 PM

Parsha Poem for Mattos

בס״ד Mattos It’s payback time for Midian, This is Moshe’s curtain call, Though they’re of the blood of Yisro, It is by the sword they’ll fall. We spared the young men and the women, Then were rebuked for this mistake, Which echoes down to King Shaul, In Israel’s...

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About Me

Born in New York City in 1952, Nisan moved in 1967 to St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. He graduated from Colgate University, and received an MA in Biology from William and Mary. Nisan resided in Charlottesville, VA, Newtonville, MA, and Baltimore, MD before making aliyah in 2013. He has been married for 40 years, with three adult children and ten grandchildren. He lives in Efrat.

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