Grape Juice and Challah

Grape Juice and Challah,

Every Friday night,

After Hebrew School, 

A child’s sweet delight. 

Apples dipped in honey,

For the first day of the year,

Just a little sweetness,

For a child loved so dear. 

Donuts and a latke,

For when the days get slow,

As we sing our songs,

And the candles burn down low. 

Some kids know all the prayers,

Some kids may know just one,

But that does not matter, 

As long as they have fun. 

One hundred days, 

One hundred nights,

That they have not been home. 

They must miss play, 

They must miss light,

They must feel so alone. 

What would we give,

To hear them say, 

“Can I have another latke?”

One hundred days, 

One hundred nights,

They must miss the taste of Challah.

Are they OK?

Are they alright, 

In those dungeons made for Allah?

Our G-d’s disgraced,

By men who treat,

A child’s life like fodder. 

A child should have sweetness,

From the adults inside their lives,

They should not be raised by villains,

Who behind children like to hide. 

Gaza has a problem, 

And it’s not the IDF,

It’s that they’re ruled by monsters, 

Who for their own could not care less.

Grape juice and Challah, 

And a taste of something sweet,

For every child trapped in Gaza, 

It’s a parents’ job to feed. 

So let us show them love,

They have all been so deprived,

Let us give them all the hugs, 

That they have been denied. 

Every child needs a home, 

Every child needs protection, 

Sheltered by an iron dome, 

Of familial affection.