Wormicide, a poem by Rabbi Alter Abelson (1931)
Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=23485
open_content_license: Creative Commons Zero (CC 0) Universal license a Public Domain dedication date_src_start: 1931-00-00 date_src_end: 1931-00-00 languages_meta: [{"name":"English","code":"eng","standard":"ISO 639-3"},{"name":"Hebrew","code":"heb","standard":"ISO 639-3"}] scripts_meta: [{"name":"Latin","code":"Latn","standard":"ISO 15924"},{"name":"Hebrew (Ktav Ashuri)","code":"Hebr","standard":"ISO 15924"}] Date: 2019-01-25
Last Updated: 2025-05-29
Categories: Rosh haShanah la-Behemah
Tags: 20th century C.E., 57th century A.M., Compassion, humility, lovingkindness, The Worm, חסד Ḥesed, לב נשבר lev nishbar, צער באלי חיים tsa'ar baalei ḥayyim, שמיר Shamir
Excerpt: The poem "Wormicide" (1931) by Rabbi Alter Abelson. . . .
Content:
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Wormicide
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I see the worm beneath my feet,
Eating the dust, his morsel sweet,
And muse and say: “God’s mercies, prove
In all, His sorrow and His love.
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What fates and fortunes must he know,
What gloom and glory weal and woe,
While grubbing in the dust to find
A crumb of food, a shelter kind.
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And love, love builds and breaks his heart;
Of me and God, he is a part.
Where dream our dear and loved ones, he
Oft keeps their angel company.
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He also has life’s push and strain,
But oh, no conscience gives him pain,
The way it harrows us, his kin.
What knows a worm of wrong and sin?”
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Although God said that man may tread
The worm and serpent on the head,
I draw my heels away with shame,
I would not murder in Heaven’s name!
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The poem “Wormicide” can be found in Alter Abelson’s collection of poetry, Sambatyon and other Poems, vol. 1 (New York: Ariel Publications, 1931), p. 258.
Source(s)
Wormicide by Rabbi Alter Abelson (1931)
Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Co-authors:
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Name: Alter Abelson
Bio: Scholar, poet, and translator Alter Abelson was born in Lithuania on July 17, 1880, and grew up in Manhattan, where he studied John Keats, John Milton, William Shakespeare, and Percy Shelley. In 1903 he received his Master of Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Theological Seminary and in 1920 received a law degree from the New Jersey Law School (now Rutgers). Abelson, who served as a rabbi in synagogues in New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, also served as a chaplain for the New York Board of Rabbis from 1947 to his retirement in 1960. Abelson authored four poetry collections, Helen and Shulamith (Whittier Books, 1959), Songs of Labor (Paebar Co. Publishers, 1947), Sonnets of Motherhood (1938), and Sambatyon and Other Poems (The Ariel Publications, 1931), and translated work by the Hebrew poets Judah Halevi and Chaim Nachman Bialik. He died in 1964.
Website: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/alter-abelson
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/alter-abelson
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Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription
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