Golem and the Librarian

GOLEM AND THE LIBRARIAN

thru halacha time and space

Lucas Scheelk

Hashem, the One with Many Names,

was in need of Golem to watch over

the Jewish people once again

An asteroid did Hashem craft

into a bipedal Golem of seven feet

EMET inked on their forehead

Hashem brought Golem to Mars

the NASA Perseverance rover traveling

back to Earth and joyful to gain a friend

Before separating at a NASA launch pad

the rover blessed Golem in Earth English

sending warm pulses to their neshama

It’s a mitzvah whatever you do

It’s tikkun olam if your actions are true

May your halev receive justice long overdue

Their working universal translator victorious

and gifted tzitzit brushing against their thighs

Golem first traveled across Turtle Island

One day Golem came across a mobile library

owned by an autistic Jew who lived there and

welcomed Golem into their year-long Sukkah

"Monday through Sunday from 9am to 3pm,

except on High Holidays or Shabbat of course,

or Shavuot or Tu Bishvat because of reasons!"

Over the next month they became friends as

the Librarian took their time in trusting Golem

and Golem learned Earth pop culture in return

Despite how small the mobile library was

Golem was not too tall to fit inside for they had

the ability to change into any size desired

Kept on top of the Jewish literature shelf

Golem played instrumental music on the

nights when the Librarian's trauma haunted

Numbness enclosed the Librarian on the new

Federal holiday National Vaccination Day

Golem opened their mouth and Dolly's voice sang Jolene

The Librarian's eyes glossed as Golem signed, and

reminded the Librarian how excited they both were

in getting the Dolly Shot and protecting their friends

Opening their mouth once more the sound of

Dolly singing Jolene echoed in the mobile library

and soon the Librarian's brain fog dissipated

"She funded it, she didn't make it," the

Librarian corrected Golem, but humored

Golem and said, "Let's get the Dolly Shot!"

Golem thought for a time on when to

tell the Librarian on their quest to

help the Jewish people once again

Golem did not need to worry... for the

Librarian was up for an adventure as

they too didn't know how best to help

With the pandemic increasing the number

of mourners their mission became to bring

fellow Jews together in need of a minyan

Korean Jews, Palestinian Jews, Sephardic Jews,

Mizrahi Jews, Turtle Island Indigenous Jews,

Irish Jews, Black Jews, and all Jews not listed here

One Jew welded by day and sang by night

One Jew hosted Cannabis Shabbat Dinners

One Jew landed a difficult skateboard move

One Jew close-captioned for a living

One Jew witnessed a corpse flower bloom

One Jew was a tattoo artist covering Shoah numbers

One Jew cosplayed as Batman

One Jew photographed queer weddings

Golem and the Librarian made ten

Each minyan the ten turned into stars

Warmed in their neshama, prayers protected,

Hashem too called them B'tzelem Elohim

After Havdalah, Golem told the Librarian

that they had a gift for them, and the Librarian

accepted albeit skeptically at first

Golem painted the sky imitating Bob Ross'

mountains as a name day anniversary for

the Librarian, which they had forgotten

Golem and the Librarian traveled to

Antarctica and formed a minyan with

Polar Bears, Orcas, and Penguins

One Jew chose Keshet as their Hebrew name

One Jew followed South Pole Kashrut

One Jew felt at home nowhere

One Jew was a Yiddish actor

One Jew fought to hang a mezuzah outside their home

One Jew was in school to become a cantor

One Jew worked with scientists reporting on climate change

One Jew was grandiose when manic

Golem and the Librarian made ten

Each minyan the ten turned into stars

Warmed in their neshama, prayers protected,

Hashem too called them B'tzelem Elohim

Golem and the Librarian traveled to Mars

to reunite with the Perseverance rover and

altogether they hosted an intergalactic minyan

One Jew planted palm trees imported from Earth

One Jew was in recovery and recently out of rehab

One Jew received Nihun Avelim from their shul

One Jew ran a sanctuary for abandoned spaceship cats

One Jew analysed foreign planetary folklore like Star Trek

One Jew was a convert from 1RXS J160929.1−210524

One Jew helped develop the slides on Saturn’s rings

and the reunited trio made ten

Each minyan the ten turned into stars

Warmed in their neshama, prayers protected,

Hashem too called them B'tzelem Elohim

Before separating at a Mars launch pad the

rover blessed Golem and the Librarian in

Earth English sending warm pulses to their neshama

It’s a mitzvah whatever you do

It’s tikkun olam if your actions are true

May your halev receive justice long overdue

Their working universal translator victorious and

gifted with a Martian Orthodox Matzah Ball recipe

Golem and the Librarian traveled back to Turtle Island

Upon arriving at the mobile library, the Librarian

told Golem that a chronic condition was flaring up

and they must rest, mumbling, looking at their shoes

Golem took no offense, in fact, Golem only

smiled at their friend (friend!), for voicing

what they needed for their health!

The Librarian emphasized that as soon as their

new meds adjusted they'd join Golem again to

gather fellow Jews together in need of a minyan

Golem signed that they had an idea –

what if they had one last minyan before departure;

Golem sensed a family of deer in need of community

The Librarian thought, during their 420 bake,

testing their energy levels before and after,

before they agreed to be a part of a neighborhood minyan

One Jew’s cat screamed MAYBE THERE’S A GOD ABOVE

One Jew consensually let an Ibbur inhabit them for one final Kaddish

One Jew's echolalia was the Blue's Clues Pride video

One Jew laughed at documentaries about their species

One Jew wore a Magen David from their Bubbe and Zayde

One Jew had their b’nei mitzvah in adulthood

One Jew led a nature walk every Tu Bishvat

One Jew’s favorite movie was Spaceballs

Golem and the Librarian made ten

Each minyan the ten turned into stars

Warmed in their neshama, prayers protected,

Hashem too called them B'tzelem Elohim

Golem signed a special message goodbye to

the Librarian, one that neither revealed, and

flew out towards the Super Flower Blood Moon

A true friendship they had, Golem and

the Librarian, B'tzelem Elohim, blessed

by Hashem, the One with Many Names

“Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people. Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished.” - Chief Seattle  1854

We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is within the ancestral territory of the suq̀ʷabš “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People). Expert fisherman, canoe builders and basket weavers, the suq̀ʷabš live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington’s Central Salish Sea as they have for thousands of years. Here, the suq̀ʷabš live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliott Treaty of 1855.