The Jews

From slavery in Egypt
To the agonies of Babylon,
From the burning of the Temple
By the Romans
To the Inquisition of Spain,
From the pogroms of Russia
To the Holocaust in Europe,
The Jews were persecuted
And suffered endlessly,
Yet, they never cursed the darkness
But lit a candle
Which turned into a beacon
For all humanity,
Giving them monotheism,
Abraham, Jesus, Marx, Freud,
Spinoza, Heine, Einstein, Salk,
Gershwin, Berlin, Bernstein
And untold others
Who lifted humanity
Into that enlightened sphere
Where wisdom and tolerance begins
And ignorance and prejudice ends.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz