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Why I love the book of Esther (or, Blessing for Adar, 5784)
every year without fail
and sometimes twice!
Adar comes around again
every single year
just in case
we have forgotten to boo
when there is something to boo about
forgotten to fight for ourselves
when someone has been given the king’s blessing
to go after us
just in case
we have forgotten
that we are the Queen
and just how we got there
yes, it is a joyful holiday
and yes, there are costumes and groggers
and all of the fillings for
traditional cookies,
that just happen to look like
vulva and womb
but for me
so many years now
this is the holiday of
the heroine who has no way
she could possibly save her people
look what happened to the last queen
and every year she does
and so do I
This kavvanah was created for the month of Adar in the US presidential election year of 2024 by Kohenet Ilana Joy Streit.
Based in mid-Hudson Valley, New York, Kohenet Ilana Joy Streit is a working artist, peacemaker, and a weaver of blessings (through poem, prayer, and song).
Thank you for honoring and contributing to her work in any or all of the following ways:
Share her work (with attribution of course) to expand its reach
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