Cleanliness, Godliness, Lust Poem by gershon hepner

Cleanliness they say is next

to Godliness. No text

exists, however, showing

that God, who is All-knowing,

considers greatness––Yiddish

gadlus––somewhat iddish.

Although in God we trust,

we suffer from godlust

when we become gedolim,

more yordim, then, than olim.



Inspired by a comment made by my learned rabbi friend, Jeremy Rosen. After I followed a hiddush about the significance of the command to tithe and establish an eruv on Sabbath eve with a poem about Heifetz’s appreciation of Beethoven, Jeremy wrote to me: “Now adding a Beethoven theme that’ss Gadluss! ! ! ” (Gadlus is Yiddish for greatness. Yordim and olim means descending and ascending, and are the terms used to describe the downward and upward mobility of angels whom Jacob saw when dreaming in Bethel.) Jeremy’s comment, as well as my familiarity with the works of Daniel Boyarin, led to the wordplay in this poem.



7/21/08