This piece is part of our Wit­ness­ing series, which shares pieces from Israeli authors and authors in Israel, as well as the expe­ri­ences of Jew­ish writ­ers around the globe in the after­math of Octo­ber 7th.

It is crit­i­cal to under­stand his­to­ry not just through the books that will be writ­ten lat­er, but also through the first-hand tes­ti­monies and real-time account­ing of events as they occur. At Jew­ish Book Coun­cil, we under­stand the val­ue of these writ­ten tes­ti­mo­ni­als and of shar­ing these indi­vid­ual expe­ri­ences. It’s more impor­tant now than ever to give space to these voic­es and narratives.

The Oil and the Spark

An olive tree

can live

for three thou­sand years.

That’s three thou­sand years

of light-giv­ing,

priest-anoint­ing,

beau­ti­fy­ing

oil.

My lit­tle olive

had just one.

For one year,

his laugh was beautiful.

For one year,

I felt anointed.

Spark and oil flared so bright—

It was snuffed out with his smile.

My lit­tle olive flowed with oil—

My lit­tle olive had a spark.

I could hear it in his laughter—

Before it all went dark.

What is one year

next to three millennia?

My lit­tle olive,

when you were next to me,

I was anoint­ed in your eyes—

I was anoint­ed in your eyes

before your eyes could even open.

I was your priest,

and you were my sanctuary.

Were you the oil?

Or were you the spark?

Some­how you were both.

I could search for three millennia

and find no olive quite like you.

Your spark and oil were a light

which shined upon my nation.

Your spark and oil lit a flame

which will burn for all eternity.

And what is three millennia

next to all eternity?

My lit­tle olive flowed with oil—

My lit­tle olive had a spark.

I could feel it in his laughter—

I can feel it through the dark…

I was anoint­ed in your eyes

before your eyes had even opened.

You anoint me even now,

even when your eyes have closed.

The views and opin­ions expressed above are those of the author, based on their obser­va­tions and experiences.

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