Of π, screws, pie and Esther

Mar 12, 2025

Mountain air makes me preachy,

I cannot always be there.

Staring at Archimedes' Spiral up top makes me dizzy,

but I’m not there.

Of course, Archimedes’ spiral evolved

so pi is the ratio

of the circumference of a circle to its diameter or,

Archimedes’ Constant,

the oldest screw pump too.

On his trip to Egypt, he saw Pharoah lift water from the Nile

in tubes wound round a cylinder;

water is lifted within the spiral to a higher elevation.

Like our bimah tonight.

When we listen tonight to the Megillah

recited by gossips and small blakes,

not ravens who emulate Esther’s bravery:

I remember a screw, lifting content to a higher altitude

evolved from a spiral,

and a constant.

I remember Esther’s bravery and Mordechai’s kindness:

Constants.

Then Friday

I eat pie,

preferring the apple of my eye.

It happened and happens.

Pi is magic no matter how big or small the circle may be:

pi remains constant, as Esther was, and is,

same as a gossip’s mask,

at any altitude.