The Angels Yield the Law
“The nature of heaven,” said Moses, “is the nature of flame:
Flower-flame, water-flame, flame of thought;
And if I contend with the angels, they will consume
My speech with theirs.” Then in a division of light
He saw the throne. “Cool heat by heat,” he said,
And touched the throne. At that the angels were mute.
“Were you in bondage,” he cried, “and had you need
Of the sweetness of the law? Has the image of gold
Cheapened your faces, and have you denied
“God with your lips? Does all your labor yield
Nothing but the stale office of stale life,
Because the Sabbath is dead?” He turned, and held
Their eyes with his eyes, as he seized the rough
Stones of the mountain luminous with the law.
“These are for man!” he cried. Was it relief,
The sigh he heard behind him, as far below
He saw blurred faces searching the difficult sky?
_____________
The Two Sabbaths
Carrying only his own shadow home
From synagogue, upon the Sabbath eve,
A good man will look up to the candle flame
At the Sabbath window, and will feel the
love
Of the holy Sabbath warm about his heart:
The white cloth, braided loaf, and tidy stove;
And his good angel proudly will assert
Claim on the Sabbath: “May the next
Sabbath be
Mine, even as this!” he will say; and no re-
tort
Is granted his evil angel, but with a wry
Smile, he must say: “Amen!” But should a
man bring
His peace to a slattern house, the blowzy
brow
Of a slack wife, a smirched cloth, the mean
clang
Of angry pots, his evil angel will gain
Command of the Sabbath: “May the next
Sabbath belong
“To me, even as this!” he cries; and the moan
Of the good angel answers him: “Amen!”
_____________
My Children Are Growing Up
“Ah, yes,”said Gabriel, “that is what He said;
But let me tell you how the matter stood.
“Johanan had concluded. ‘No, my friend,
Said Eleazar, ‘that won’t do; my mind
Is loyal to doubt. The proof! I want the proof!’
Johanan smiled: ‘I call upon this leaf,
I call upon its branch and mother tree
To bow if I am right.’ At once the bough,
At once the lordly tree bowed down. The crowd
Clapped in amazement, and Johanan spread
His hand in triumph. But Eleazar looked
No more than courteous. ‘Let us not be tricked
By nature willing to accommodate,’
He said; ‘how does this dipping prove you right?’
Johanan flushed: his eyes glanced off, and saw
The brook careering toward them. ‘Now, I say,’
He held his hand up, ‘let this brook turn back
To prove me right!’ At once the plunging brook
Turned and leaped backwards, and a shout went up
At such spontaneous justice. But the drop
of Eleazar’s eyelids bespoke scorn:
This magic is delightful. But to turn
Brooks, and bend boughs—how does it further truth?’
He asked, and made his bearded smile a wraith
of gentle disenchantment. Then ablaze
Johanan’s voice burst round them: ‘Let this breeze
Fill with God’s breath! Let Him declare me right!’
And even as he spoke they heard the great
Breaking of thunder: ‘Verily, it is so,
Johanan, my servant.’ And the summer sky
Trembled with glory. But Eleazar still
Sat unaffrighted; even, his hovering smile
Deepened a little: ‘No, no, my friends,’ he said,
‘Truth needs no such to-do! The laws God made,
God will abide by. Come, Johanan, we two
Must find the truth between us. Let us try!’
“Shocking?” said Gabriel; “well, I thought, who knows?
I’ll take this to the Throne. ‘O Lord, Thy ways,’
I said, ‘are hidden in wisdom. Can this man
Be just in Thy sight?’ And God said: ‘Again,
Gabriel, man attains Me; For his soul,
Loving My laws, loves Me. Ah, Gabriel,
My children are growing up!’ So said the Lord,
And I was filled with wonder at His word.”