“Yamim Noraim” and other poems
Zach Goldberg
About Zach Goldberg
Zach Goldberg is a writer, educator, and arts organizer from Durham, NC. He is the author of XV (Nomadic Press, 2020) and the recipient of a 2021 MRAC Next Step Fund Grant. His work can be found or is forthcoming in AGNI, PANK, Knight’s Library, and elsewhere. Zach has represented Wesleyan University and Berkeley, CA at various national and regional poetry slam tournaments. He currently lives on occupied Dakota land in Minneapolis, MN.
About “Yamim Noraim” and other poems
I’m interested in approaching Shmita through the lens of repetition and rhythm, exploring the idea that history repeats but not always in recognizable or identical ways. Shmita is an opportunity to pause and take stock of the cycles in which we live: cycles of violence, of care, of relationship to one another and the world. In my mind, this brings forward a compelling tension – the choice of wanting to break a cycle or maintain it. These poems attempt to address that tension, raising questions about the responsibility of individuals and the Jewish people more broadly.
