Moshe went out to his brothers one day,

and viewed a struggle that was at play:

An Egyptian was ruthlessly beating a Jew;

Moshe felt it was his duty to follow through.

He saw that no one else was in sight,

and took it on himself to do what was right.

He saw two Jews fighting when he went out again,

and said to himself, “If not now, when?”

He tried to make peace between the friends,

“Why interfere? Why do you have to mend

a disagreement that doesn’t concern you?

What’s your plan? To kill us, too?”

So Moshe took off and ran.

He’d move to Midyan, that was his plan.

Trying to make peace tore his life apart,

now he’d leave it behind, make a new start.

When he arrived at Midyan, Moshe was stunned,

at the well he witnessed bullying being done.

He couldn’t look away, wouldn’t hide,

his passion for justice burned inside.

He approached the conflict, got it solved;

Once again he just had to get involved.

May we, like Moshe, seek peace everywhere,

always persevere, and forever care.

May we use these stories, learn from what Moshe does,

and each, in our own way, be as great as he was.

Rabbi Neil Fleischmann, an ordained rabbi from RIETS, has taught Torah for over 30 years, primarily at The Frisch School, where he coached the award-winning poetry team. As an integral part of the Yeshiva Poetry Society, Fleischmann is a passionate advocate for the arts within the Torah world. He was named New York’s funniest rabbi and has performed stand up comedy, as well as presenting as scholar in residence, across the city and country. His literary work includes the haiku collection, “In The Field,” and he has contributed close to 20 poems to the “Stories of Our Lives” anthologies, parts 1 and 2. Currently, Fleischmann is working on a book of parsha poems that combines meaningful content with whimsical formatting. You can reach him at [email protected].