אהבת עולם
הרב לואיס פוליסון
מוצאי ט׳׳ו בְּאָב תשפ״ו
נורת’המפטון, מסצ’וסטס
אדמות ילידיות של שבטי הניפמאק, הפוקומטאק, והנאָונוטוק
באַגַּן הַסַּהַר
אחרי הגשם והשמש
שרנו שירי אהבה
אהבת חסד
אהבת האדמה
אהבת העולם
תשובת היהודי
תשובת כל אדם
הוא לחזור לשורשים
כי עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה אנחנו
עם נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים
נשמת השכינה
הופכים, שבים לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה
חַסְדֵי הויה כִּי לֹא תָמְנוּ, כִּי לֹא כָלוּ רַחֲמֶיהָ
כי יכולה להיות אגודה אחת
ונהיה קהילה קדושה
על האדמה
בשירה ובזמרה
מצאנו
ונִמָּצֵא
באהבת עולם
Motza’ei Tu Be-Av 5786 / July 29, 2026
Northampton, Massachusetts — Native lands of the Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, and Nonotuck tribes
In the fullness of the moon
After the rain and the sun
We sang songs of love
Love of kindness
Love of the earth
Love of the world
The repentance of the Jew
The repentance of every human
Is to return to our roots
For dust from the soil of the humus are we
With the breath of life
The soul-breath of the Divine Presence
Transforming into, returning as a living being
The kindnesses of the ETERNAL BEING have not ended, for Her merciful compassion is never finished
For it is possible to be one unified community
And we can become a holy congregation
On the earth
In song and in chant
We have found
And we will be found
In eternal love
Postscript: This poem was composed after the annual Tu Be-Av Concert at Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, MA, on July 29th, 2026. The ensemble featured Molly Bajgot (vocals and music direction), Gabriella Feingold (vocals), Nat Ross (piano/keyboard, acoustic guitar, and bass guitar), Rabbi Louis Polisson (bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars), and Jesse Chevan (drums and percussion). The concert was a beautiful and powerful meditation on love, both between human beings and other humans, and between humans and the more-than-human-world on Earth.
Louis Polisson (he/him) currently serves as the Senior Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, MA. From July 2023 through June 2026, he worked as the Associate Rabbi and Music Director at Congregation Beth Sholom in Teaneck, New Jersey. He previously served for five years as the Rabbi of Congregation Or Atid in Wayland, Massachusetts. He earned his BA in Classical Studies from Brandeis University and received rabbinic ordination and an MA in Kabbalah & Ḥasidut from the Jewish Theological Seminary. A poet, musician, and composer, Rabbi Polisson was awarded an alumni grant from the Hadar Institute to write and record As Full of Song as the Sea, an album of original Jewish and earth-based spiritual songs with his spouse, Gabriella Feingold (she/her). He and Gabriella are the proud parents of 6-year-old Asher (he/him).
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