Poets publish chapbook in memory of Judih Weinstein, killed on October 7
The haiku writer was murdered by Hamas terrorists with her husband, Gad Haggai, outside Kibbutz Nir Oz
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
Judih Weinstein, the Kibbutz Nir Oz resident who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 along with her husband, Gadi Haggai, as they took their regular early morning walk, was many things, including wife, mother, teacher, puppeteer and poet.
Born in upstate New York but raised in Canada, Weinstein, 70, moved to Israel as a young adult and lived in Israel for decades.
She had long been a member of the southern branch of Voices Israel, a group of English-language poets that meets monthly.
Weinstein was well known for her haikus, the short poems she wrote throughout much of her adult life.
“She loved writing haiku, it was indicative of how singular and creative and individualistic she was,” said Miriam Green, a writer and poet who often hosts the southern branch of Voices Israel at her Beersheba home. “Judih would schlep in from the kibbutz and we would have lovely discussions,” as each member would read a poem and receive feedback.
“Over the years, you really get to know someone because they put their souls into their poetry,” said Green.
The poetry group was scheduled to meet on October 8, in order to meet a fellow member from Toronto who was in Israel for a visit.
Instead, they counted the days of her assumed captivity, until it was discovered in December that Weinstein and her husband had both been killed on October 7, with their bodies taken to Gaza.
All signals had pointed to the couple’s murder on that morning, said Green, after a video of them walking out of the kibbutz was discovered, as well as their frantic call to 911.
“We canceled those first sessions,” said Green. “I just couldn’t do it without her, we were tandem coordinators for the group. Now it’s on me.”
The group is publishing a chapbook in Weinstein’s memory, a short book that’s common in the poetry world, often containing no more than 20 poems, offering a taste of each writer.
Titled “Light Thru Trees,” it highlights Weinstein’s poetry and offers an opportunity for her fellow poets to memorialize her. The chapbook includes poems in her memory, some of them merely touching upon her fellow poets’ emotions during the ongoing war.
“What emerges is a picture of a woman in love with life, with her family, and with her presence in the world,” said Green.
Some of the poets used Weinstein’s haikus as a prompt to create their own poetry, said Green, “so it’s a play of back-and-forth with her poetry. You read the poems and feel the themes that people have taken from her poems.”
Weinstein often wrote daily haikus that reflected her mood, many of them about what she saw when she went out on her morning walks, relating to the beauty she witnessed in nature.
Her longer poems explored the ideas of alternative narratives her day could have taken, said Green, and Weinstein would give her readers the recipe to transcend everyday actions, live in the moment, and experience a higher plane of being.
The chapbook, published in memory of Weinstein in cooperation with her four children and their families, is an opportunity to embrace the colorful beauty of life that she saw and wrote of so clearly, said her fellow poets.
“She was so self-composed and beautiful,” said Green, “with her beautiful wavy gray hair that flowed down her back.”
Green described Weinstein as very petite, a vegan who paid attention to what went into her body and would drink tea during their poetry gatherings.
Weinstein was a teacher who taught English, and specialized in working with children with special needs and attention and concentration problems, making puppets with her students to deal with trauma and mindfulness.
“She was extremely creative, everybody loved her,” said Green. “I never saw any anger in her, just this delight with the world.”
Green last heard from Weinstein on October 6, when they texted with one another and Weinstein told Green she looked forward to giving her a hug on October 8.
On October 7, said Green, she kept hoping for some sign of life from her friend.
Over the ensuing months, Green has been in touch with Weinstein’s children, who were involved in helping the poetry group create the book, providing them with more of their mother’s work.
The book is an internal Voices publication, designated for its members and for those abroad who support the group and poetry.
After October 7 and with the news of Weinstein’s disappearance, Voices Israel also created an online War Blog where members were encouraged to post haikus of their fellow poet’s merit.
From “Light Thru Trees”
By Judih Weinstein
life so delicate
days of war, peace, sorrow, joy
let’s choose love
voices on paths
children run across lawns
kibbutz life returns
days pile on days
what is different this year?
lost belief, new hope
after pandemic
obsessive Father Death Blues*
grim reaper motif
*(“Father Death Blues” by Allen Ginsburg)
tripod set to go
subject without focus
no selfie today
watch from a distance
shrivel of ancient mothers
beyond time and space
waves crash overhead
body emerges to breathe
daily resilience
heartbeat metronome
from nineteen sixties to now
music diary
suddenly her name
memories and smiles
hugs from the past
hours of nighttime
paint pours down the cliffside
the artist in awe
a moment to feel
the power of butterflies
silken transport
soft zippered sweatshirt
sing-alongs under blue skies
crisp morning walk
