Recently my wife and I began taking a creative writing class together at the local community college. We have three young wonderful children, thank God, but sometimes we need a little adult time away. This class was nothing I took seriously; it was just a pleasant diversion to share with my wife.
In the class I planned to write some innocuous poems, and not wanting my every word to somehow be mistaken for "Jewish wisdom," I always had a baseball hat on over my yarmulke.
But behind the scenes, Someone else had plans to take that baseball hat off.
One particular night the class was learning about the haiku, a type of short poem originating in Japan. There are several specific and essential qualities that make a poem a haiku. The structure consists of 3 lines, with a 5-7-5-syllable pattern. I had seen haikus before, usually in a humorous context, such as in David Bader's "Haikus for Jews":
Would-be convert lost --
thawed Lender's Bagels made a
bad first impression.
Monarch butterfly, I know your name used to be Caterpillarstein.
While, these poems are funny, and follow the 5-7-5 pattern, that night in class we learned the other qualities needed to make a real haiku.
Haikus have to express something about nature. They have to use very concrete terms, never generalities. They have to deal with the here and now and be composed of strong nouns and verbs; rarely are there modifiers, such as adjectives or adverbs. Often their three lines are split into two parts, by a colon or a dash, with an imaginative distance between the two sections. Each line, however, should contain a complete thought. And finally, the whole haiku should have a twist that offers some spiritual insight by juxtaposition.
Clearly these poems aren't just rattled off by counting 5-7-5 on your fingers!
MOMENT OF REVELATION
That night, driving home from class, I noticed the darkness in the sky and the few stars out. I started thinking about the Shema -- the most important Jewish prayer, the Jewish "pledge of allegiance," which testifies to our belief in One God.
Some neurons thinking about class, and some neurons thinking about the Shema, must have greeted each other, because my heart started racing and my fingers went up in the air to count the syllables:
She-ma Yis-ra-el | Hear O Israel |
A-do-nay El-o-hei-nu | The Lord our God |
A-do-nay E-chad | The Lord is One |
I gulped hard. 5-7-5 in the original Hebrew! I counted it in my head a few more times to make sure.
I gulped hard. 5-7-5 in the original Hebrew!
At times like these, when certain mundane things click together and form a Divine experience, I often think of the words Ani Yosef -- "I am Joseph." In the Torah, Joseph uttered these two words upon reuniting with his brothers (Genesis ch. 45). They finally understood that the prime minister of Egypt was none other than their long-lost brother. All their confusion and doubt vanished, and God's plan became clear.
In other words, I knew my baseball hat was coming off.
SIMPLICITY AND TWISTS
The more I thought about the Shema as a haiku, the more I was amazed at how it jumps through the definitional hoops. It has the 5-7-5 syllable pattern. It is about nature, or rather the nature of the universe. It is very concrete, and consists of strong nouns and a strong verb, with no modifiers. It deals with the here and now. Its three lines each express a complete thought. There is an imaginative distance between two distinct sections: The first section (Israel) is finite, and yet connects with the second section, God the Infinite.
Finally, the Shema's six simple words has many twists, offering spiritual insights by juxtaposition. Here are three:
- Elo-him, the God of Monotheistic Judaism, is a plural noun, signifying the seemingly many forces that are spread throughout creation. Yet, these worldly forces are One. - "Ado-nay is our God" – the God of the Jews; but in the future, Ado-nay will be acknowledged by all as the One God. - Ado-nay is used to denote God's Attribute of Mercy, while Elo-him is used to denote God's Attribute of Justice. But, no matter whether we perceive God as kind, angry, merciful, or judging, He is One, and His Truth and Purpose is One.
PROFOUNDLY ZEN-LIKE?
So there it was: The Jewish Haiku, the ultimate Jewish Poem. No jokes about bagels or gefilte fish. Here were all the key issues: who are we, who is God, what should we be doing.
I proudly submitted the Shema for my haiku homework, giving the Almighty full writing credit.
I told some friends about my discovery, and it reached one woman who's into Japanese poetry, not "Old World" Judaism. Framing the Shema as a haiku made it modern, "Zen"-like, poetic, and deep. She said it affected her more profoundly then anything else she'd encountered in Judaism.
Indeed, Judaism is not Old World. It is timeless, applicable, and relevant at every moment.
I proudly submitted the Shema for my haiku homework, giving the Almighty full writing credit.
The baseball hat came off.
Was this the real reason I was taking the creative writing class? Ani Yosef?
(53) Roberta Carasso, December 12, 2016 5:10 AM
Thank you for printing David's extremely important article on Shema as the Jewish Haiku. David did many wonderful things. He left us, but also left an enormous legacy, as well as footsteps that help us to find out way in being the best Jew possible.
David's Mom
(52) Anna Banasiak, February 25, 2016 9:05 PM
Jerusalem Haiku
The city of birds
full of prophecy and dreams
eternal garden
(51) Anonymous, July 10, 2015 9:38 PM
Hey there Caterpillarstein
OMG. too funny. Caterpillarstein. Thanks for that laugh. Anyway, I love writing and hope to be excellent one day.
More so, I hope my writing and words insipre more than anything else. Writing is good for the soul, just like music and
Tfilah. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful thoughts !!
(50) Sarah Rivka :), May 12, 2014 8:38 PM
Wow!
I never realized that the Shema was a haiku!
(49) Debbie, November 8, 2009 5:48 AM
lovely article; very inspiring!
When Avraham Avinu sent his sons, the children of Ketura, off to live in the Far East, he gave them wonderful gifts, spiritual ones. Amazingly, the Kabala contains a lot of information that matches up with much of this Eastern wisdom. The gifts of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, yoga, martial arts are much too great to have been accidental. Perhaps the Haiku is a small expression of the Divine wisdom we've gotten from the East. If the Shema fits the pattern and intent of the Haiku artform, perhaps it's not merely an accident after all!
(48) Bless Israel, October 24, 2009 6:35 PM
Thank you Mr. Carasso
I have loved haiku Since I was seven years old And now I know why.
(47) Anonymous, October 23, 2009 7:16 AM
To commentator #44 Yaakov
Consider yourself no longer in the minority.At first glance, at least until the "Zen" comparison, this article raises an eyebrow of interest; however, I agree with being leary of embracing this too enthusiastically (sorry, David).My thinking is 1) Judaism is the divine faith, elevated above and separate from all others;this is a "bring down" albeit creatively, to the human level; and, 2)since, this is regarding "writing" should one be comfortable "fitting" the divine Shema into a ordinary human construct when comparably the scribes of the Torah, of which the Shema is a part, are required to be spiritually elevated and pure. Sorry David, your article is quite clever and I write my comment with great reluctance, because I do not wish to offend but I do not feel comfortable with it.Perhaps making the Shema a "haiku" makes it seem ordinary instead of the extraordinary gift that it is.
(46) Alexandra, October 20, 2009 5:20 PM
To Yaakov
Yaakov, let me pick up your question. My feeling is that you are trying to put limitation on the One by all these lehavdil’s. Does not all inspiration come from one source? When I discover that Japanese Zen poetry is shaped like Shema, or that the blessing after Haftarah reading is chanted to the same tune as Buddhist mantra (the list may go on and on…) I feel that much closer to the time when all flesh will praise the One G-d.
(45) simple Jew, October 20, 2009 4:07 AM
thank you
suddenly it's G-d in my heart and on my mind He always was there
(44) Yaakov, October 19, 2009 1:36 AM
I see I'm in the minority!
I did enjoy the article -- Mr. Carasso shared a cute experience of "revellation" for himself that apparently has led him to grow higher in his dedication to his expression of his Judaism. That's very special, and it's amazing how Hashem can make things click uniquely for each of His children. But, in spite of all of this, I decided to write after I skimmed the comments. I don't mean to be a spoil-sport (i.e., I mean to raise a question and get us -- myself included -- thinking). I'm kind of shocked that so many people are getting such a lift because the Sh'ma matches, l'havdil, a pattern of syllable organization invented by human beings in one part of the world. What intrinsic value is there to a 3-7-5 pattern, not to mention rules of content and diction?!? I'm sorry, people, but I'd like to think that Jews are proud of the Sh'ma on its own terms -- monotheism and the rejction of the existence of a separate power of evil are very much worth celebrating, regardless of how many syllables are involved. Am I so alone in this way of thinking?! I admit that it's cute that the Sh'ma comes out 3-7-5 and I appreciate the discovery for Mr. Carasso, but why should I find in this discovery a sort of endorsement for Hashem and the Sh'ma? Imagine if next we were to "discover" that the first chapter of Breishis (Genesis) matches the pattern for a Shakespearean sonnet or for some form of ancient Greek poetry, l'havdil. I'm sorry, but I really don't believe that this is the litmus test for wonder, awe, and divine splendor. Am I off base here?
(43) gavriel horan, October 18, 2009 4:49 PM
shinto jewish tradition
Excellent article! I am curious to know the history of the Haiku. The Shinto's--oldest religion in Japan--has a tradition that the Jewish people are the "Chosen People" meant to bring the world to its spiritual and physical perfection. There is also a lot of evidence pointing to them being one of the lost tribes. . . .
(42) Alain, October 18, 2009 4:45 PM
That is a fantastic comparaison.
(41) , October 18, 2009 3:14 PM
David that was a great read just want to ask a fas t question .David what is your backgroup? French or Italian Jew ? Great work Justin Cohen -longo
(40) Zusha Vayman, January 26, 2006 12:00 AM
shiraiku=Jewish/Israeli song or nigun +haiku
This is a performance tool.
A short melody is sung and an even shorter haiku is read in most cases after the singing
(39) Vaughn Seward, August 18, 2005 12:00 AM
The Jewish Haiku article featured in Torah Tidbits
This is tremendous article David! I have featured it in this week's Torah Tidbits (see Tidbit #39, 2005/8/19):
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/TorahTidbits
Shalom,
~Vaughn
(38) Natalie Friedman, April 11, 2005 12:00 AM
As a Jewish Day School principal, I made the same discovery. I am always looking for connections between the Jewish people and the Japanese people and customs. There are many!
(37) Zusha Vayman, February 10, 2005 12:00 AM
Hebrew Haiku Society records since 1995
If you need a copy of a recent HHS newsletter or its past issues write to Kaji Aso Institute
40 St Stephen St
Boston MA 02115 USA (attn. Z. Vayman).
ä÷éõ öôøéø
òì ùôúéí øôéí
àîåä ùìîä
hakaits tsafreer
al sfataeem rafeem
emoona shleima
You may also submit your new haiku in writing to the same address.
"Nikudot" preffered!
(36) Zusha Vayman, January 10, 2005 12:00 AM
Hebrew Haiku Newsletter
Hebrew Haiku Newsletter
Hadshot Amootat Haiku beIvrit has been published and circulated since 1997.
(35) John (Yoni) Kinory, December 11, 2004 12:00 AM
The 5-7-5 fallacy
Dear David,
The haiku form does not have a '5-7-5 syllable pattern'. That is a fallacy born out of misunderstanding several points:
1. Japanese does not have English-type syllables but onji.
2. Japanese onji do not correspond to the (stressed) syllable of English (or other Western languages, although these do vary: French is stressed very differently from English).
3. Japanese needs more onji to express a given thought than English needs syllables.
4. Modern Japanese haiku often depart from the 5-7-5 onji structure.
In summary: traditional Japanese haiku use the 5-7-5 onji form. English haiku do not need to be written in any particular number of syllables. Syllable-counting is detrimental to creativity, and most haiku writers these days do not bother to do that.
Regards,
John (Yoni) Kinory
Haiku writer in English and Hebrew.
Please do write to me at translate@kinory.net
(34) yehuda hatsvi, June 13, 2004 12:00 AM
I loved the new aspect of the "shema Yisrael"!
(33) Daniel Reed, January 4, 2004 12:00 AM
Please forward to David Carasso
Dear David,
Great article-sent chills down my spine.
I live in Kibbutz Ketura way down in the Arava desert, about a 1/2 hour north of Eilat. I work for Keren Kolot Jewish STudies Institute and this afternoon I was busy preparing for a creative writing workshop that I was going to lead for a group of Jewish Day School students visiting our kibbutz.
I decided to do something different-I've always enjoyed haiku and think its simplicity and attempt at conveying complexity, and simplicity and purity of thought very applicable to the desert. So I looked up on google desert haiku and found some great examples.
However, I also like to relate my desert creative writing to Jewish themes especially since we are a people who sprang from the desert.
I search again on google for Jewish haiku and the first thing on the list is your article!
Thank you.
I am also Joseph.
Daniel Reed
Keren Kolot Jewish Studies Institute
Kibbutz Ketura
Israel
(32) Dave Levin, June 15, 2003 12:00 AM
A wonderful discovery
In all seriousness, thank you; all intelligence has divine inspiration
(31) Anonymous, June 11, 2003 12:00 AM
mystical
it's 2:30 am and reading this was mystical. iloved it. i can't wait to share it with friends. i will think of it when i next say the shema. shalom.
(30) ABRAHAM IBN DAOUD, June 10, 2003 12:00 AM
UNIVERSALITY OF DIVINE LAWS &HUMAN SPIRIT
IF WE DECIPHER VARIOUS EVENTS WITH THE LANGUAGE OF SYMBOLISM AND DIVINE LAWS THEN WE UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSALITY OF OUR SPIRITS & ITS CONECTION TO SINGLE SOURCE.
(29) Judy Freedman, June 9, 2003 12:00 AM
WOW
Truly amazing, as Jewish haiku was a topic discussed and encouraged by English teachers on the English teachers' forum just in the past few weeks
(28) raye, June 9, 2003 12:00 AM
a serendipitous experience
I am grappling with a manuscript deadline for a writers conference. Reminder of the Shema makes all the difference.
(27) Shulamit, June 9, 2003 12:00 AM
This does not surprise me at all.
There have been numerous instances of recognition of the timelessness and universality of the Bible. So this is just one more such instance, and it does not surprise me at all.
(26) Anonymous, June 9, 2003 12:00 AM
this is really cool
this is a really cool discovery
(25) Terry Shelnutt, June 9, 2003 12:00 AM
Awesome!
How wonderful it is that God has again reavealed himself to you and others through the Jewish haiku poetry.
(24) Anonymous, June 8, 2003 12:00 AM
Wow!
Wow!
(23) lou fridkis, February 6, 2002 12:00 AM
english version
Listen O Israel
Merciful and Just
God is one being.
(22) Anonymous, November 20, 2001 12:00 AM
THIS ISAN EXCELLENT INSIGHT INTO JEWISH-HAIKU.
I ENJOY WRITING HAIKU. HIAKU ARE ALSO GOOD FOR CHILDREN, AS A WAY TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES ABOUT ISSUES THAT MATTER TO THEM (EX: A SNOWY DAY).
(21) Karl Rose, November 18, 2001 12:00 AM
enlightenment
The core of all our intelligence comes from God and yet we are surprised when we come full circle and run right into him,figuratively speaking of course.
(20) jan klein, November 17, 2001 12:00 AM
jewish haikus
a new dimension has been shown in the shema
(19) Phyllis, November 17, 2001 12:00 AM
I am drawn to any information relating to my favorite daily prayer, the Shema. It is a prayer like a beautiful mantra in its sound and flow of words and now to hear this as early poetry. How wonderful. It is has given me something to think about. Thanks for sharing this revelation with us!
(18) , November 16, 2001 12:00 AM
delightful insight. i'm still smiling!
(17) Cuauhtemoc Avila Villava y C., November 16, 2001 12:00 AM
incredible
Incredible fantastic, GOD works every place for ever.
(16) Anonymous, November 15, 2001 12:00 AM
wow!
i wonder whether yakov was a poet...
very insightful. congrats on getting rid of the baseball cap:-)
(15) Nan Wallace, November 14, 2001 12:00 AM
Wonderful!!
(14) Anonymous, November 14, 2001 12:00 AM
Positive Feedback for this Piece
I liked this very much!
(13) , November 13, 2001 12:00 AM
revelation
I am so glad this was written. for years I have been wondering why the of Oriental culture exists. We know that the world was created for our benefit, and I couldn't understand what benefit we gain from thier culture. But here we have it, everyday we learn something about our religion through their poetry and appreciation of nature. Lately the Japanese and Chinese cultures have become "in style" and I have been intrigued by it like everyone else. Thank you for sharing your revelation.May we be able to come closer to G-d through our knowledge of the world.
(12) Marilyn Balser, November 12, 2001 12:00 AM
Shema
It's beautiful. There's nothing Zen about it. G_d's Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It never changes. Baruch Hashem.
(11) Anonymous, November 12, 2001 12:00 AM
Great timing
My 7th grade son is learning about different forms of poetry. He is reqired to keep a journal of favorite poems of different styles. This will be the best entry!
(10) Rivkah Carasso, November 12, 2001 12:00 AM
Carasso zooms in to the essence and universality of Judaios, as expressed by the Shema
Outstanding. Further evidence of the eternal nature of Judaiism and how other areas of life stem from it.
(9) , November 12, 2001 12:00 AM
It is very wonderful how you can see that no matter where we are from or what time frame that the connection of all being human is there.
(8) etty robinson, November 12, 2001 12:00 AM
fantastic
This was outstanding. I will be sure to tell others about this. I learn someting new everyday in Hashem's world. Thank you
(7) anthony levy, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
oriental wisdom in general is a marvellous introduction to where we need to be to merit the torah - fully engaged and in the present. to do this we have to jettison all our buried emotional issues from this and previous lifetimes. the problem of most of us is that we have been brainwashed by a materialist scientific western mentality, from which perspective Chazal is more or less incomprehensible. when we jettison this - and oriental wisdom (derech eretz) offers many useful approaches, then we can prepare ourselves for the heights beyond that Judaism offers us.
(6) Anne, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
Haiku
What a beautiful article. I often wondered why the Shema sounded so beautiful and "right". Now I know. Thank you.
(5) Raphael Gamaroff, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
Just to say how much I enjoyed this "concatenation" signifiers - shema - signifieds.
Raphael
(4) Silky Pitterman, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
The holy and the mundane
I always consider it a blessing from Hashem when He lets me see the holy in the mundane.
(3) Ruth, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
Beautiful....you opened my eyes !
Tears of gratitude
For having taken the shema for granted
so often....thanks
(2) Craig V, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
Great article
I liked reading this;
Though my haiku may not fit the bill
I know I'll learn soon.
(1) Anonymous, November 11, 2001 12:00 AM
A magnificent insight
Wow. This is both a Drash [exegesis]and a Sod [Kabbalistic teaching]. Having a deep interest in the Japanese culture, and the culture of Asian Jews. I find this to be fascinating, and am grateful for the shared insight. Having seen this I am now going through all of the other prayers I know.