A Touch

by Avigayil Robbins, age 17, from Ontario

A touch, a hug, or a kiss,
Can bring joy and happiness.
Simply a look or a smile,
Could bring warmth which stays a while.

A touch, a shove, or a push,
Can make one feel like mush.
Simply a look or an air,
Could lead pain to linger there.

So heed what you are told,
Before you grow too old.
Feelings do not always show,
But are real as gift or a blow.

It’s more pleasant to grin
Than to frown.
And the smallest act
Leaves a great big impact.

If you just remember this
You’ll always be full
Of happiness

Snow Day

 by Ahuva  I., age 9, from NJ

 I look out my window;
what do I see?
A white fluffy world
looking back at me.

 I do not go to school
for the buses do not go.
I just stay home
and play in the snow.

 I have some hot chocolate
when my snowmen are done.
Then my friend comes over
and we have so much fun.

 I love all these snow days
full of memories to remember.
These days are all in the months of
January, February, and November.

 And then,
when winter is done
the snow will disappear
to show that spring has begun.

The World

 by Ilana Zerbib, age 13, from CA

 Away from the glitterness
Away from the gold
Away from the bitterness
It’s time to be bold

 This world’s materialistic
This world is too physical
This world’s not realistic
And its level sunk to critical

 The miniskirts and heels
Whose beauty is the most?
The business and the deals
The filth rebounds from coast to coast

Is this what life’s about?
The clothes and the hair
And fame, without a doubt
Is number one, in the world out there

 Some people shine a light
And their fellows they save
Some people live in night
And to their bodies they are slave

 Away from all the cruel
Away from the pain
Good and bad is in a duel
It’s up to us Jews to make good win

That Place

 by Chevy Kepecs, age 17, from NY

 When confusion strikes me,
frustration and fear
I feel a desperate urge to disappear
I close my eyes and dream of flying
Far, far to a place of no sighing
It is a place that contains no sorrow or pain
There is no need for tears
or sensations of vain
Nobody is evil; no one shoulders any blame
Nor are there regrets
and conscience of guilt and shame
It is but a place of sheer peace and serenity
Love and friendship, not aversion and enmity
So when sadness engulfs me
as it does everyone
I escape to that place in my mind
and have some fun
But then reality returns,
and my problems I must face
So I cry and cry,
wishing and longing for that special place

 Then it hits me: Hashem Eloikanu Hashem Echod
I am protected and cared for
by Hashem (G-d) from above
And though there is no place on Earth consisting of just sunshine and joy
No place to escape that will my problems miraculously destroy
My Father in Heaven does only good
He knows what’s best for me,
more than I would
So when I feel confusion, frustration and fear
I know Whom to turn to;
Hashem is ready to hear