“A Short History of Judaic Thought in the Twentieth Century”

The rabbis wrote:

although it is forbidden

to touch a dying person,

nevertheless, if the house

catches fire

he must be removed

from the house.

Barbaric!

I say,

and whom may we touch then,

aren’t we all

dying?

You smile

your old negotiator’s smile

and ask:

but aren’t all our houses

burning?

Linda Pastan, “A Short History of Judaic Thought in the Twentieth Century”