The Irish and Jewish peoples — so much alike. Who knew?

“Others have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis,” Irish writer Brendan Behan. If you are casually glancing, the Jewish and Irish peoples seem like polar opposites.  But go deeper, and it becomes apparent there are strong similarities.

1)     Both have tiny patches of land to call their own, both hallowed and disputed.

2)     Both ancient wanderers have been held at a distance with skepticism and contempt.

3)     Both have tight-knit circles as a family and a people group, no matter how far away they wander.

4)     Both have a disproportionate number of Nobel laureates.

5)     Both have suffered death and persecution as a people group.

6)     Both tribes have people scattered around the world.

7)     In 432 AD, St. Patrick emphasized Christian teachings and Jewish biblical law in Ireland. The roots of Christianity are Jewish – the knowledge of One God and the Ten Commandments. Both still hold these beliefs in a post-modern and post-God world.

8)     Israel and Ireland both played essential parts in spreading globally the moral code and biblical teachings of ancient Israel.

9) Only two ancient civilizations have had the harp as their symbol — Ireland and Israel.

Last year, my husband, daughter, and I traveled to Ireland for the first time. It was a very spiritual journey for us. The Irish have such a rich history of loving God. I was pleased to find in my family history a line of Irish ancestry. I felt strongly connected as we traveled the ancient, narrow stone roads, climbed the emerald cliffs, and breathed the salty sea air. God’s redemptive plan for both Ireland and Israel are incomplete. And I believe they will play an important part in end time events.

I wrote this poem as we traveled ancient pathways throughout Ireland.

Where Flowers Crack the Stone

Deep in the thick green

shimmering isle,

I’ll plant with care

ancient seeds

carried in my womb.

I’ll lavish them upon

the rich soil between

narrow, winding roads

and rolling, sheep-laden

pastures – upon the

moss-grown cliffs

where the flowers

crack the stone

to bloom for strength

of life and strength

of beauty – along the

shining coasts where

the fishermen lived

and died by the sea, where

the wild horse galloped

the shore. The seed-

dreams of my forefathers

have come full-circle —

beyond the door of green,

laden with

storytellers and poets,

lovers and fighters.

I’ll pour water from

the ancient wells upon

seeds and weep for joy

as I walk the old

circular pathway,

carved in stone and

wrapping the cross of

eternal blood-soaked

triumph. “Church teach

the cross” the Gaelic

imperative translates the

Celtic symbol. The lily

trumpeters across the

land declare, “Awake

oh Ireland, awake!” That

He who died, did not

in vain and the sleeping

seed arouses to reclaim

the dreams of the straight

Irish old, born anew of

water and of blood.

©Bonnie Saul Wilks

Dublin, Ireland

May 26, 2016