Get Behind Thee Satan
What begins as a question about Satan behind us becomes a meditation on fear, momentum, and the strange power of what drives us forward.
When Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach Yehoshua
scolded Peter, retorting Zel lakh l-bestray, Satana!
I thought it diabolical.
Why instruct Ho Diablos to step into a blind spot?
To skulk at the spine, rather than stand in the gaze?
From the front, you see. You can watch the plunderer,
track the shifting weight, keep an unblinking eye on Hasatan!
But from behind? How do I know what it’s planning
until the trap snaps shut? …
Until I hear Jimmy Iovine on
All In A Day’s Work:
“Fear. Fear is a powerful thing.
I mean it’s got a lot of firepower.
If you can figure out a way
to wrestle that fear
to push you from behind rather
than stand in front of you…
that’s very powerful…”
A headwind breaks you. A tailwind makes you run.
To leave the adversary in front is to let it block the road.
To command it behind is to turn a wall into a weapon.
Is this why the scouts walk ahead of the tribe?
Why men outpace their wives and children on the trail?
Not to look aloof, but to catch the arrow first.
To clear the path of bandits, wildlife, and shadows …
ܙܶܠ ܠܳܟ݂ ܠܒ݂ܶܣܬ݁ܰܪܝ ܣܳܛܳܢܳܐ
Let the threat breathe heavy down our necks —
Our beady eyes fixed on the road ahead.
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