Paradise Collectors is a 75 page compilation of Jewish themed poetry, featuring poems inspired by Judaism, Jewish holidays, and Jewish practice from D.L. Lang's previous books and a few new additions. Includes "Turning" previously published on ReformJudaism.org, "Prayer for the Shomrim" previously published in the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, and "Is" previously published in the Marin Poetry Center anthology Vol 21, and winner of 3rd place at the 2019 Solano County Fair. This collection grew out of my building a set for a synagogue reading in Napa. The title comes from a quote I read in May 2018: "Paradise is scattered over the whole earth and that is why it has become so unrecognizable." - Novalis It struck me and others as a very Kabbalistic quote. I wrote the title poem Paradise Collectors after reading that quote in a horoscope. We are paradise collectors and one day, we shall find it. Together.

These poems search for compatibility between contemporary consciousness and a rich, ancient liturgical tradition. Specifically, they explore the deep feelings of joy and regret, shame and hope associated with the Days of Awe, the Jewish High Holidays, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and concluding with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Tekiah refers to the sound of the shofar, the ceremonial ram's horn that is blown to commemorate the beginning of creation. The sound also recalls the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the destruction of the Temple, and the binding of Isaac, and anticipates as well the reunification of the Jews of the Diaspora. Finally, and perhaps most important, it serves as an entreaty to the Jewish people to perform teshuvah, to return to God.