Grendel And Menahem Mendel Poem by gershon hepner

The nemesis of Beowulf, great Grendel,
has now become an opera, “Transcendence of the Bad, ”
unlike the late Lubavitch Rebbe, Mendel
Menachem, once the leader of a messianic fad.

Menachem Mendel, may the righteous be
remembered for a blessing, once attempted to transcend
the bad, but like a lemon without tea
became a source of sourness not sweetness with his end
because some people think that he is still
alive, thus linking him to a messiah Jews reject,
thus generating sadly much ill-will
towards those of his followers who seem to be a sect.


Diane Haithman writes about the new opera by Elliot Goldenthal, “Grendel, ” which will open this week at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (“High-wire opera, ” LA Times, May 21,2006) .The opera’s subtitle is “Transcendence of the Bad, ” which is also what chassidut is all about.

5/23/06,1/31/10