The Kotel in Jerusalem is Filled with Cracks

by Debbie Feit

 
He     flew thousands of miles to
          daven in his beloved Yerushalayim,
          collapsed before hands
          touched limestone, before paper prayers were
          housed in hallowed halls amidst kindred wishes.

We    found in his suitcase T-shirts, his siddur, gifts he
          bought for his grandchildren, the gold Chai he
          wore every day, the one that was
          formed by their names: Yael, Moshe, Maya, Liviya; its chain had
          been           broken and would need to be
          put back together,
                     not   unlike
                                         us.

Debbie Feit is an accidental mental health advocate, unrelenting Jewish mother and author of The Parent’s Guide to Speech and Language Problems (McGraw-Hill) in addition to texts to her kids that go unanswered. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, Five South, Passengers Journal and on her mother’s bulletin board. She has been a reader for Five Minutes, an advertising copywriter, and a person who used to be able to sleep without pharmaceutical intervention. Read about her thoughts on mental health issues, her life as a writer and her husband’s inability to see crumbs on the kitchen counter on Instagram @debbiefeit or at debbiefeit.com.