Jerusalem of gold
Jerusalem of gold ( Hebrew ירושלים של זהב, Yeruzhalayim schel Sahav ) is a popular Israeli song written in 1967 by Naomi Schemer .
History and meaning
According to Shalom Ben-Chorin , the Golden Jerusalem is “a Talmudic expression. Rabbi Akiba gave his wife a 'Golden Jerusalem'; apparently it was a piece of jewelry, a cameo or a gem , maybe an amulet ”. The expression can be found in the Rashi Commentary on the treatise Nedarim 50a in the Babylonian Talmud.
The longing for Jerusalem , the old town of which was still inaccessible to Jews at that time, is the subject of the song written shortly before the Six Day War about the several thousand years of Jewish history . The song says:
The fountains are empty of water,
The marketplace as if dead,
The Temple Mount dark and deserted
There in the old town ...
On May 15, 1967 - three weeks before the start of the war - the Jerusalem made of gold, performed by the singer Shuly Nathan the day before at a festival, was awarded "Song of the Year". The song, which quickly became popular, became a battle cry of the Israeli forces . Paratroopers started it on June 7, 1967 in front of the Western Wall , which was captured on that date, with a spontaneously invented new text, which replaced the text of the refrain - “Jerusalem of gold, of bronze and of light, see, I am a lute for all your songs "- turned upside down:
Jerusalem of steel, iron and darkness,
through your walls we have set you free,
the soldiers ran into blood and smoke,
and after death came the grief ...
“Overnight the song Yerushalayim schel Sahav (Jerusalem of gold) became the highest expression of national sentiment, a symbol of victory that was seen as redemption.” ( Uri Avnery ) Thereupon Naomi Schemer changed one of the stanzas about the reunification of Jerusalem to celebrate:
The fountains are filled with water again,
The square with a joyous crowd,
From the Temple Mount sounds
the shofar over the city ...
According to Shalom Ben-Chorin, the song “achieved enormous popularity in countless translations: English, French, German, and even Finnish. American Jewish Reform Churches included the song in their liturgy , and the popular Reader's Digest magazine devoted an entire article to it. "
The Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery, then a member of the Knesset , suggested Jerusalem made of gold as the national anthem for the State of Israel , even if he was bothered by the “ nationalist phrases attached ”. However, this entry was never voted on, so it stayed with HaTikwa . Avnery gives the song the "unofficial status of a second national anthem".
After her death in 2004, Naomi Schemer left a letter stating that the melody was not written by herself, but - subconsciously - was taken from a Basque lullaby called Pello Joxepe . However, she is said to have denied similarities with this song again and again during her lifetime.
Reception in German-speaking countries
In the German-speaking world, Jerusalem made of gold became known primarily through the final scene of the film Schindler's List . Since the song in Israel is associated with the Six Day War, the Israeli version of the film has the piece Eli, Eli (A Walk to Caesarea) as background music at this point .
The German-language New Spiritual Song, Ihr Mächtigen, I don't want to sing, is sung to the same melody . The text by Christine Heuser is in some ways, for example with regard to the motif of longing and homecoming, based on Jerusalem made of gold , but does not refer to the city in Israel, but to the “ Heavenly Jerusalem ”. The text is not a translation of the original, not even a free one.
literature
- Ernst Trost: David and Goliath. The battle for Israel 1967. Fritz Molden, Vienna 1967.
- Jonathan Scheiner: Song of Gold , in: Jüdische Allgemeine , May 25, 2017.
Web links
- D. Gall: Jirushaayim schel Sahaw . German translation by haGalil , 2014
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Shalom Ben-Chorin: I live in Jerusalem . dtv, Munich 1988, p. 152.
- ↑ a b c Translation after Yael Levine: Jerusalem of Gold - Translations. jerusalemofgold.co.il, 2003, archived from the original ; accessed on May 6, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Consolation: David and Goliath . P. 196 f.
- ↑ according to other translations: copper
- ↑ a b c Uri Avnery: A myth dies: Yerushalayim schel Sahaw . haGalil , May 17, 2005, accessed May 6, 2017.
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↑ Idit Avrahami et al. a .: Naomi Shemer had no reason to feel bad, says Basque singer. Haaretz , archived from the original ; accessed on May 6, 2017 . Luistxo Fernandez: Hear the Basque original lullaby for Naomi Shemer's Jerusalem of Gold . Eibar.org, May 6, 2005, accessed May 6, 2017.
- ↑ You mighty ones, I don't want to sing. (pdf, 44 kB) Keller.fateback.com, 2006, archived from the original on February 2, 2014 ; accessed on May 6, 2017 .