Former Ornithologist

Parsha Poem for Mattos

Jul 20, 2022, 7:11 PM

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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 war with Amalek.

Did Zipporah live to see this,
A Midian-ess by birth?
Or was she spared this final grief,
And rested in the earth?

About the Author

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.