I AM A JEW

From the beginning of my life, I did learn,

That I was a Jew and within me did burn,

The desire to know from where I came,

And if my life would be filled with pain.



As the days and years passed _ my questions grew.

I searched through many books, looking for a clue.

There was much to read, but nothing I came upon,

That gave me the feeling, that I did belong.



A Jew I was born _ a Jew I can stay.

But what is a Jew if he cannot live his way?

Only when I learned what made Israel a Jewish nation,

Did I understand the need to continue with our creation.



I stood before the monument known as the Western Wall.

My hands caressed the stones as to my knees I did fall.

My eyes filled with tears for the remorse and grief

For those millions of Jews who died for their belief.



They will never stand in front of this place,

And be filled with pride for the Jewish race.

The uniting of Jerusalem, the creating of a state,

A country where Jews can live without hate.



Jerusalem, the city of David and Solomon the Wise.

A city filled with tradition, of pain and cries.

A place where a Jew can find who he is at last,

Where with every step, he can discover his past.



A home to stay after two thousand years away,

To talk and walk and be able to pray.

I am a Jew, I can touch my past.

I have returned, I am home at last.



There is pride in my step, my back is straight.

I have found myself, I can now relate.

For no longer will I ask just who am I?

I am a Jew until the day I die.

Alvin Abram