Shalom Aleichem

Tradition, Tevye tells us from the stage,
is how the universe maintains its order.
Oh sure, since he's a milkman, not a sage,
and rarely been outside his shtetl's border,
he talks of prayer shawls and covered heads;
of how to eat, to sleep, to die, to marry,
but all the while tradition weaves its threads,
forsaking neither synagogue nor dairy.
Is that, then, the best measure of a man,
how fervently he meets God's  expectations;
adhering to a rigid, best laid plan,
indifferent to the rise and fall of nations?
God knows the answer but remains aloof.
You'll have to ask the fiddler on the roof.