Bialik’s “On the Slaughter” and the Tradition of Biblical Lament: Stanza Four

Go here, here, here, here, and here for earlier posts in this series.

Stanza Four, the final stanza of Bialik’s poem, goes like this:

וארור האומר: נקם!

נקמה כזאת, נקמת דם ילד קטן

עוד לא-ברא השטן –

ויקב הדם את-התהום!

יקב הדם עד תהמות מחשכים,

ואכל בחשך וחתר שם

כל-מוסדות הארץ הנמקים.

 But cursed be the one who says; Avenge!

Revenge like this, revenge for the blood of a small child

Satan has not yet created –

and let the blood pierce the abyss!

Let the blood pierce through the deep-dark abysses,

and devour, in the darkness, and breach there

all the rotting foundations of the earth.

 In the preceding stanza, Bialik asked that justice be done here and now or not at all. In this stanza, the conclusion of his prayer, Bialik reverses himself. He wants justice to be done all the same, even if it will not happen here and now.

Bialik’s final prayer moves beyond the request for tit-for-tat justice. His curse on the one who, like the author of Psalm 137, imagines revenge for the blood of a small child to be something God might actually devise, may strike us as a nice liberal point of view, the kind of thing any enlightened person today might think.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Bialik does not resign himself to less than tit-for-tat justice, as enlightened middle-class people do, who in the process become less than men and less than women, and satisfy themselves with substitutes for justice like personal peace and prosperity.

Bialik knows that much more than tit-for-tat justice is the only satisfactory solution. The rotting foundations of earth itself must be breached. The language is apocalyptic. The world order as Bialik knows it must come to an end. Anything less would be insufficient.

Bialik taps a rich vein of biblical prophecy in the conclusion of his prayer, a vein that continues to be misunderstood and maligned by most interpreters. It is that stream of biblical tradition which sees the world as something far less than the best of all possible worlds. It is that stream of tradition which longs for the destruction of the status quo, and its replacement by something radically new.

רֹעָה הִתְרֹעֲעָה הָאָרֶץ

פּוֹר הִתְפּוֹרְרָה אֶרֶץ

מוֹט הִתְמוֹטְטָה אָרֶץ

 

נוֹעַ תָּנוּעַ

אֶרֶץ כַּשִּׁכּוֹר

וְהִתְנוֹדְדָה כַּמְּלוּנָה

 

וְכָבַד עָלֶיהָ פִּשְׁעָהּ

וְנָפְלָה וְלֹא־תֹסִיף קוּם׃

The earth is breaking, breaking;
     earth is splitting, splitting;
            earth is tottering, tottering.

Like a drunk the earth
     will sway and sway;
         like a shanty, rock to and fro.

Its crime will weigh upon it;
     it shall fall, to rise to no more.

Isa 24:19-20

כִּי קֶצֶף לַיהוה

עַל־כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם

וְחֵמָה עַל־כָּל־צְבָאָם

 

הֶחֱרִימָם נְתָנָם לַטָּבַח

וְחַלְלֵיהֶם יֻשְׁלָכוּ

וּפִגְרֵיהֶם יַעֲלֶה בָאְשָׁם

 

וְנָמַסּוּ הָרִים מִדָּמָם

וְנָמַקּוּ כָּל־צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם

 

וְנָגֹלּוּ כַסֵּפֶר הַשָּׁמָיִם

וְכָל־צְבָאָם יִבּוֹל

 

כִּנְבֹל עָלֶה מִגֶּפֶן

וּכְנֹבֶלֶת מִתְּאֵנָה

For the Lord is in a rage
       against all the nations;
           in a fury against all their array.

He vowed them to destruction, consigned them to slaughter;
       their dead shall be thrown away,
             their corpses send up a stench.

The hills will dissolve in their blood.
       all the array of heaven will molder;

the heaven will roll up like a scroll,
       all its array will shrivel

like leaves shrivel on a vine,
       like fruit shrivels on a fig tree.
                                           Isa 34:2-4

The third and fourth stanzas of Bialik’s prayer allude to Isa 34. The destruction Bialik envisions does not involve a tit-for-tat slaughter, but it continues to contemplate the end of the regime of both heaven and earth as Bialik knew it.

Here is the vocalized text:

וְאָרוּר הָאוֹמֵר: נְקֹם!

נְקָמָה כָזֹאת, נִקְמַת דַּם יֶלֶד קָטָן

עוֹד לֹא-בָרָא הַשָּׂטָן –

וְיִקֹּב הַדָּם אֶת-הַתְּהוֹם!

יִקֹּב הַדָּם עַד תְּהֹמוֹת מַחֲשַׁכִּים,

וְאָכַל בַּחֹשֶׁךְ וְחָתַר שָׁם

כָּל-מוֹסְדוֹת הָאָרֶץ הַנְּמַקִּים.

Comments

[#nbhiortn[insapngza]]

qUmvkfVoiv ferragamo outlet eShlggGrrn salvatore ferragamo outlet dYnkcgRynz ferragamo outlet online cImgsxPhgy http://salvatoreferragamobelts.manifo.com/
pKduhfBprs fitflops eLwijiBczs fit flops zIbuetMmdb fitflop shoes cMgtkpNham http://fitflopsaustralia.manifo.com/
tXqvajWmqm fitflops eYjxdiQycz fit flops jCwkzhPawo fitflops sale
uEybizYbsv sneakers isabel marant mPqcfnApil basket isabelle marant eTajqnLjzg http://isabelmarantsfrances.webnode.fr/
qVmekwNqyv insanity workout oUcxgrFofg insanity workout australia jQczdtZwto insanity workout for sale gYdiikSogu http://insanity-workout-australia.manifo.com/
lDasrpRefk http://celinebagssale2013.blogspot.com/ gVkibnThhb celine handbags pWmskxQafj celine luggage bag hEbhnwFcoi celine tote bag

[#nbhiortn[changeszg]]

iKggtvDcdk insanity workout lBktlpAdki insanity workout dvd xXkkiyDkov insanity workout online
iMmugbXjxp insanity workout cAmtmeZfmb insanity workout australia mFbrlhFocs insanity workout on sale

[#nbhiortn[insapngza]]

lJwpifRgsr insanity workout dMsqyeVodi insanity workout sale qDybvgMgbg insanity workout for sale qRtwqbWoah http://insanityworkoutdvds.blinkweb.com/
jEdfngIufc fitflops sIocfyYnty fitflop sZchcaCedw fitflop shoes zLlxzsDcru http://fitflopsale.snack.ws/
yTqfusSisp isabel marant shoes iUhhrdPnqe isabel marant sneaker aMlieeZxjw isabel marant bekket sneakers cHetzoDhrj http://isabelmarantsneakerss.manifo.com/
uMrxzfPlix http://celinebagssale2013.blogspot.com/ iGaeupFzpn celine handbags qOavirIjpr celine luggage bag dZjqnzAozu celine tote bag
kHpjdmKinl fitflops oQycskKejf fit flops fYvdpmYmhk fitflops sale jPnaywNjgz http://cattleplain9.wix.com/fitflopsaustralia
aOsgtpQxqg baskets isabel marant hTtdrdJmsk isabelle marant basket nVqemkHgsp http://isabelmarantsfrances.webnode.fr/

[#nbhiortn[changeszg]]

lOkvzzZemc insanity workout iYdpqiAixh insanity workout sale bJngvcQinq where to buy insanity workout
mBsuotTrvh insanity workout pAczvzPqsq insanity workout australia iOrkuuTxkp insanity workout review

[VewAppefs]

qtkjo oakley sunglasses zkegs oakley australia beftc oakleys yaatu http://oakleysunglassesau.welbecktiles.org/ xexjq ghd australia wavfi cheap ghd australia hctip ghd australia sale ybvoh http://hairausale.huacsfba.org/ jpxpm isabel marant sneakers hvngv isabel marant shoes bdoly isabel marant boots sale ydavi http://isabelmarantsneakers.bopptravel.org/ onogo jimmy choo shoes islwa jimmy choo sale hgnpb jimmy choo shoes sale qeqwx http://jimmychoo.bopptravel.org/ hpypm insanity workout zqalc insanity workout online jzsee insanity beach body yuice http://insanityworkoutsale.psychster.org/ omlck marc jacobs handbags ziduy marc jacobs bags wlbzv marc jacobs tote bag qectv http://marcjacobs.jaxwaldorf.org/

[VewAppefs]

ylrbt sneakers isabelle marant czlms baskets isabel marant gqwwa chaussures isabel marant oneob http://isabelmarrantsneakers.webnode.fr/ izwcc fitflops jrcxg fitflops sale yzatv http://fitflopsflipshoes.snappages.com/ ofhqm sneakers isabel marant wqdvm isabelle marant basket rxopd chaussure isabelle marant xmdvv http://isabelmaranttsneakers.webnode.fr/ xvzit http://burberrypascher11.webnode.fr/ zqzkt fitflop jvcql fitflop sale ppgjc http://fitflopmalaysiasalea.manifo.com/ tnjlo basket isabel marant kszuz baskets isabel marant sfbjf boots isabel marant tihdv http://basketisabellemarantsfr.monwebeden.fr/

[#nbhiortn[changeszg]]

vYqiuzIvdx insanity workout sYwoluGjth insanity workout dvd zOigohKhmb insanity workouts
aPvnbuIlhr insanity workout lOvzukOlcg insanity workout australia uGltsqTsus where to buy insanity

[VewAppefs]

qzmje ghd hair straightener jjsiu ghd hair straighteners uudfy ghd sale fkhtr http://hairsalon.huacsfba.org/ yjyys chaussures nike qikdf chaussures nike pas cher gaewt chaussure montante nike yhxjt http://acheterchaussure.huacsfba.org/ ieixy isabel marant sneakers cdkfy isabel marant boots omyyx isabel marant wedge sneakers cnntk http://isabelmarantsneakers.asia/isabel-marant-sneakers.html eufpj isabel marant sneakers tgucc isabel marant dicker boots ftgop isabel marant sale ychyx http://ohiosga.org/ cwfpv sneakers isabel marant aateq isabel marant chaussures bmiap chaussure isabelle marant egxxp http://fetsick.org/

[VewAppefs]

lvrre fitflops ligmw fitflops australia cjzih http://fitflopsflipshoes.snappages.com/ hbyuo burberry homme iyzrr bottes burberry nuyfy t shirt burberry hsdvd http://frsacburberryfr.monwebeden.fr/ sfoig fitflop uwvbi fit flop thyfi http://fitflopmalaysiasalea.manifo.com/ qyfff sac burberry jgrqf sac burberry pas cher lwihq sacoche burberry uwpge http://sacburberryfr4.webnode.fr/ jdwcu sneakers isabelle marant abotm baskets isabel marant gliwx chaussures isabel marant knlis http://isabelmarrantsneakers.webnode.fr/ ndgst http://fitflopsale-singapore.snappages.com/

[VewAppefs]

iwfxt fitflops fopkn fitflop sale wpxxg http://fitflopsflipshoes.snappages.com/ nzwgc http://sgfitflopsales.snappages.com/ tywnw burberry homme uuasr bottes burberry bgxhf burberry france tydjc http://frsacburberryfr.monwebeden.fr/ lubzk isabel marant sneakers kqyyp isabel marant chaussures xfvjq chaussures isabel marant hlbqo http://basketisabellemarants0.webnode.fr/ ejhvi burberry soldes hugar soldes burberry zmvli boutique burberry pfyxo http://burberrysoldes8.webnode.fr/ xwwwj isabel marant sneakers xrzav isabel marant basket cmwqa boots isabel marant elefp http://isabellmarantchaussures9.webnode.fr/

[#nbhiortn[insapngza]]

kTeusgMxnw fitflops kZezkzZupy fitflop aNjkawQbfz fitflop shoes iCgjypBqdp http://cattleplain9.wix.com/fitflopsaustralia
eAbcgoQkrh http://celinebagssale2013.blogspot.com/ gFgcvzLcfv celine handbag gDosxsCkyr celine luggage bag zIxhisCumm celine box bag
yEspeoSoqm insanity workout lIgucjJqpz insanity workout sale tJingjWnco insanity workout dvd hQdfkwWutb http://insanityworkoutdvds.blinkweb.com/
xTxxodLugq sneakers isabel marant gYrowsRywl isabelle marant basket tWbympNifh http://isabelmarantsfrances.webnode.fr/
qVvcntWcds fitflops wNtereRygb fitflop dDyymtAawn fitflops sale
mBiiycTiuf fitflops sYcxnlGcbk fitflop uOzeocHjor fitflop shoes eGnbasKsss http://fitflopsale.snack.ws/

[#nbhiortn[insapngza]]

mNgnnbFrpd isabel marant shoes mDgswoAuso isabel marant wedge sneakers vEtideJuuk isabel marant sale rPpkffXils http://isabelmarantsneakerss.manifo.com/
tOuaolYwar fitflops eJurapOika fit flops kJprzoGmkr fitflops sale gZllmtNjbt http://fitflopsaustralia.manifo.com/
yCcmghSvan http://celinebagssale2013.blogspot.com/ gTnsqiBxjw celine handbag lMzghcHusz celine luggage bag oUyueeVfwj celine box bag
vSebwnNior fitflops tWzabpKigi fitflop gWkixkYkxy fitflop shoes lByzgaCgki http://fitflopsaustralia.blogspot.com/
wRckhxYhgd fitflops aQksttRfgx fitflop sale uAgzzjCigi fitflop shoes vHiwuqHlvy http://fitflopsale.snack.ws/
oMdjszAqgo fitflops yVlpcyKllq fitflop oEygslBjcz fitflop australia

[VewAppefs]

rfqym isabel marant sneakers kdjyq isabel marant shoes zwtsk isabel marant online xiqmi http://isabelmarantsneakers.bopptravel.org/ bxxjp oakley sunglasses zpang oakley australia mciaq oakley sunglasses australia egfhy http://oakleysunglassesau.welbecktiles.org/ ftych christian louboutin shoes gyxta christian louboutin mens shoes xzydu christian louboutin shoes outlet vxnqg http://christianloubout.bopptravel.org/ zcfni ghd australia zwgdm cheap ghd australia dwicr ghd straighteners australia ouiqd http://hairausale.huacsfba.org/ fpklo jimmy choo shoes pfhqz jimmy choo sale pgrxi jimmy shoes mrgli http://jimmychoo.bopptravel.org/ moadw insanity workout kuihu insanity workout for sale pwbum p90x vs insanity dljik http://insanityworkout.psychster.org/