In the footsteps of Jerusalem Of Gold
Israel has two national anthems: The Hatikva and Jerusalem Of Gold,
The Hatikva, which means the Hope, is the official anthem, but Jerusalem Of Gold, Jerushalaïm Shel Zahaav in Hebrew, is almost more famous.
Why is that ? How was this song born and what does it mean ?
Let’s discover it together.
The making of the song
The Jewish State was born on May 14, 1948.
The next day the young Jewish state was attacked by 5 Arab neighbour countries.
Thanks to the strong motivation of the young new immigrants in Israel, often former concentration camp prisoners, the Jews managed to keep control on part of the country.
But the Old City of Jerusalem as well as East Jerusalem fell in the hands of Jordan.
West Jerusalem became part of Israel where the Israeli government settled in the newly built Knesset.
From 1948 on, Jews could not enter the Old City anymore. Jordanian snipers located on the city walls made sure Jews could not even approach.
In the spring of 1967, the Jewish Mayor of West Jerusalem. Teddy Kollek, asked the composer Naomi Shemer to compose a song about Jerusalem for a song festival that was broadcasted on the radio very year for Independence Day.
She named the song Jerusalem of Gold, and asked the young singer Shuli Nathan to sing. The text and the melody were an immediate succes.
Ony 3 weeks later the surrounding Arab countries attacked Israel, but in 6 days, the Israeli army managed to push the enemy forces back and conquered the Old City as well as Easy Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was finally reunited !
Naomi Shemer then decided to change some of the lyrics in the song. Where before, the song was about longing to go back to the Old City, it now said how ” we have returned to the old City and we have blown the Shofar “,
Indeed, the first thing the Rabbi of the army did when he arrived at the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount, was to blow the shofar, a traditional rams horn , to celebrate the return of the Jews to their most holy site.
Since 1967, Shuli Nathan, but also many other Israeli and foreign artists have sang the beautiful song Jerusalem of gold. In Hebrew,but also in many other languages.
It is often believed to be the national anthem of Israel, and in a way it could be so as it describes the link with and longing for the Jews to return to Jerusalem.
The main characters of the song
Naomi Shemer was born in 1930 in a small village near the Sea of Galilee. The village, Kvutsat Kinneret,was very similar to the famous kibbutz model in Israel. A kibbutz was a farmers village where the work and income was shared and where socialist ideology was implemented.
When, like all Isralies of 18, she enlisted into the army, she became the army performer as she was a talented musician already.
In the 1960-s, she listened to a concert of a Basque performer and heard a song. She was inspired by the melody when she wrote the song Jerusalem of Gold.
She sang the song for the Israeli paratroopers during the short 6-day war, and during the war she changed the lyrics so the soldiers when she heard that Israel had won the war.
She died in 2004 and is buried in the historic cemetery by the shores of the Sea of Galilee, alongside her muse, the poet Rachel.
Shuli Nathan was only when she sang the song. Naomi chose her because she thought that Shili’s voice sounded like a bell. The song made her famous ar once and she became an acclaimed folksinger, until today.
Teddy Kollek, the Mayor of Jerusalem held his position from 1965 to 1993. He had been the longest ( in time ) mayor of Jerusalem. During is tenure he made Jerusalem a modern city and managed the reunification of East and West Jerusalem from 1967.
Teddy Kolleck was born in Hungary and his family moved to Vienna before immigrating to British Palestine.
He was named Theodor ( Teddy is the abbreviation of Theodor after Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, who was also born in Hungary and who also lived in Vienna.
Teddy Kollek died in 2007 and was buried alongside Presidents and Prime Ministers on Mount Herzl. He is the only mayor to be buried there.
The sites in Israel related to the song
When you visit Israel, we will visit the Wailing Wall and the Temple Mount and tell you the story of the Independence war in 1948 and the 6-day war in 1967, when Israel conquered the old City.
We will also visit the cemetery on Mount Herzl where Teddy Kollek is buried.
In this cemetery we will discuss other famous Jewish leaders who are buried here like Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin and his wife Lea and of course Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism.
And we can visit the fascinating museum there that tells us all about the life of Theodor Herzl.
When traveling through Israel, we can stop at the picturesque cemetery at the shore of the Sea of Galilee and visit the tomb of Naomi Shemer and the poet Rachel, as well as some famous Jewish pioneers who came to British Palestine at the beginning of the 20st century.
The words of the song
As mentioned, Naomi Shemer changed some words in the song after the 6-day war. In the song she also refrenced the Old Testament, using passages from the Books of Lamentations and Psalms.
The most famous phrase “ if I forget thee Israel “, is maybe the most moving reference to the bible.
Naomi Shemer was also inspired by the writings of Rabbi Akiva, who lived in the 2nd century and wrote beautifully about Jerusalem, who promised his wife Jerusalem, calling it a “ city of gold”.
The mountain air is clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sound of bells.
And in the slumber of tree and stone
Captured in her dream
The city that sits solitary
And in its midst is a wall.
Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.
How the cisterns have dried
The market-place is empty
And no one frequents the Temple Mount
In the Old City.
And in the caves in the mountain
Winds are howling
And no one descends to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho.
Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.
But as I come to sing to you today,
And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise)
I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so)
And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born).
For your name scorches the lips
Like the kiss of a seraph
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Which is all gold…
Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.
We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A ram’s horn (shofar) calls out (i.e. is being heard) on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.
And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine –
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho!
Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.
I was born and raised in Holland. After high school, I studied to become a social worker and worked one year for the social services of the city of Amsterdam. But after having visited Paris, I fell in love with the city and eventually moved there. I enrolled in the Tour Guide school of Paris and started working in the best profession one can imagine: I became a licensed tour guide. I have worked with great pleasure as a guide in France and have met so many people, developed so many new
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