Priests, Scholars, Dollars Poem by gershon hepner

In the olden days it was the priest
who was the fount of wisdom, scribes and scholars
replacing him. Though many aren’t deceased,
now precedence is given to the dollar,
a scholar being somebody who heckles
the priests, while sucking up to wealthy donors
who provide, as they did to the priests, their shekels
that come from a self-serving annual bonus.

Inspired by Ra’anan Boustan’s discussion of egalitarianism and anti-priestly polemic in Heikhalot Rabbati discussed in his book Ra’anan Boustan, From Martyr to Mystic: Rabbinic Martyrology & the Making of Merkavah Mysticism (Studies & Texts in Ancient Judaism) (Tübingen Mohr Siebeck,2005) ,275–81, and Congress’s decision to curb the annual bonuses of bankers who have caused the collapse of the US economy.

2/13/09