"B'Tzibbur"
lyrics and music by Benjamin Newman

/ D G / Em GA / 1st /[1. Em A :/[2. EmA D /

I'm a nice, Jewish boy, but in a natural way --
I like to go outside among the trees to pray.
From time to time, a Jewish friend asks me to say
If that's a pagan kind of thing to do.

	Well, yeah, I'm a Jewish pagan -- I don't think that's wrong,
	For reasons I'll put forward in this very song --
	Which is allusive, full of footnotes, and might go on too long,
	I suppose that's 'cause it's by a Jew!

When the Israelites first occupied the promised land,
They cut down the pagans' sacred trees at G!d's command;
That seems a little harsh, but I can understand
How, otherwise, we might not be here now.

	But, since then we've been around a few thousand years,
	Changed the shape of our religion, found new hopes, new fears,
	And so many new opinions, it's no longer clear
	What theologies we'll allow.

Our philosophers and mystics have both said the Divine
Is so far beyond the limits of the human mind
That we might as well think of it as undefined --
Impossible for us to describe.

	But, lest you think "impossible" means "we woudldn't bother",
	Our tradition also speaks of G?d as "king" and "father",
	And "better than the rest" right next to "there is no other" --
	Something here doesn't quite jibe.

Though the mystics claimed that G!d's true nature can't be said,
In their poems and devotions they went right ahead,
And used images and metaphors from A to Zed --
Our heritage includes those, too.

	For example, could G?d's Presence be a feminine force?
	(She couldn't be a separate goddess, 'cause G1d's One, of course.)
	That idea's Jewish now, but can we guess at its source?
	The names they called Her weren't entirely new:

A queen, a bride, a lover with Her sweet perfume,
A mother bird, a flowing spring, a cosmic womb,
And something about a grove of apple trees in bloom --
Hey, weren't we talking about trees before?

	But the mystics spoke of G?d as just "the Place", as well,
	And the Presence as "the Community of Israel";
	Wherever people gather and invite Her to dwell... 
	Whoa, I think I see a metaphor!

See, the Torah asks if human beings and trees compare,
But our sages reinterpreted that verse -- with flair --
So, a grove's a congregation, and a flower's a prayer...
I have to say, that's pretty cool.

	And that's why you'll never catch me praying to a tree --
	Which I agree a nice Jewish boy should never be --
	I'm just out here praying with my community,
	The same as I do in shul!