Jewish haiku
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Jewish haiku are poetic parodies combining the style and conventions of ancient Japanese haiku with traditional Jewish noodging. Widely circulated in e-mails and quoted on web pages[citation needed], often without attribution, many of these poems were first published in "Haikus for Jews: For You a Little Wisdom" (Harmony Books, 1999) by David M. Bader.
As explained in Haikus for Jews, the Jewish haiku, like the Japanese haiku, consists of three lines of five, seven and five syllables respectively. Like the Japanese haiku, it should include a kigo or "season word" hinting at the time of year. For example, In traditional Japanese haiku, russet could suggest autumn and dragonfly could mean summer, while cherry blossom might connote spring. Similarly, in Jewish haiku, sun block could mean summer, extra sweater winter, and doing my taxes spring. In Jewish haiku, the season word may be left out entirely if it is replaced by a "home furnishings word," such as broadloom.
Although they are called haiku, these short poems have more in common with senryu than with traditional Japanese haiku.
The first part of the Shema, one of Judaism's most important prayers, follows the syllable pattern and the scansion of the haiku:
She-ma Yis-ra-el,
A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu,
A-do-nai E-chad.
The following are examples of Jewish haiku:
The sparkling blue sea
beckons me to wait one hour
after my sandwich.No fins, no flippers,
the gefilte fish swims with
some difficulty.In the ice sculpture
reflected bar mitzvah guests
nosh on chopped liver.
From Haikus for Jews: For You a Little Wisdom (Harmony Books, 1999) © David M. Bader, quoted with permission.
