Those were no ordinary sheep …
no common flocks,
huddled in sleep
among the fields,
the layered rocks,
Near Bethlehem
That Night;
but those
selected for the Temple sacrifice:
theirs to atone
for sins
they had not done.

How right
the angels should appear
to them
That Night.

Those were no usual shepherds
there,
but outcast shepherds
whose unusual care
of special sheep
made it impossible to keep
Rabbinic law,
which therefore banned them.

How right
the angels should appear
to them
That Night.