Six Songs That Shaped Israel

IN CELEBRATION OF YOM HAATZMAUT, WE SHARE WITH YOU AN ISRAELI MINI PLAYLIST: SONGS EVERY ISRAELI KNOWS THAT HAVE SHAPED ISRAEL AND ITS CULTURE THROUGHOUT ITS SHORT HISTORY

Suddenly lightning thundered, someone shouted: Wounded! I’m already here, the medic answered. We’ve stepped on a mine! Shouted the wounded man then,

ת …I’m here, by your side, the medic replied ּפֹ בֹו ָ ׁש ה ְּ ָא !We survived, they’re coming ּב ָל ָדה ְלחֹו ֵב ב ֶא ֶרץ ֶח ְמ ַּדת The wounded man cried, PO BE’ERETZ CHEMDAT AVOT BALADA LACHOVESH But did not hear a word from the medic. Written by Israeli playwright, Dan Alma- Written by Israeli poets Yisrael Dushman Brother, my brother! The wounded man cried, gor, at age 21 in 1956. and Chanina Karchevsky in 1912. Across the river, the rustling reeds. Tune composed by Effi Netzer in 1968. When Israeli politician and MK Chaim The song earned its success and fame Boger was the principal of the Gymna- when Yehoram Gaon’s rendition won first sia Herzliya High School in Tel Aviv, he place in the Israel Song Festival in 1969. It asked Dushman and Karchevsky to write is considered one of Gaon’s most beloved a marching song the students could sing songs, and won first place in a number of other competitions. while hiking the Land. ב The song is a back and forth conversation ְירּו ָז ָה ָׁש ַלִים ֶׁשל -The song became wildly popular among between a wounded soldier and his para religious and secular Zionists alike, and medic. Like other ballads, the hero of the YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV is sung every year at the Yom HaAtzmaut song, the paramedic, meets his tragic end ceremony on Har Herzl. at the conclusion of the song. Although Written by Naomi Shemer in 1967. it was not based on one specific story, it Probably the most famous and most This song expresses the Zionist dream bears similarities to other incidents which moving Israeli song of all time, Yerusha- did occur. Written after the Six-Day War, of making , setting the Land and layim Shel Zahav describes the Jewish the song was seen by many as represent- reviving the Hebrew language. people’s 2,000-year longing for Yerusha- ing the bravery and heroism of the Israeli layim, referencing Tanach and Talmudic .soldier ּפֹה ּבְאֶרֶ ץ תחֶמְּדַ אָ בֹות ּתִתְ ּגַּשֵׁמְ נָה ּכָלהַּתִקְ וֹות, sources as well as borrowing from Rabbi For many years, the song was played on Yehuda HaLevi’s Zionistic poetry. It was ּפֹהנִחְ יֶהּופֹה נִ ּצֹר, חַ ּיֵי זֹהַ ר חַ ֵ ּי יּדְ רֹור, ּפֹה ּתְהֵ א -the radio only on Yom HaZikaron. It is written by Naomi Shemer, and commis הַּשְ ׁכִינָהׁשֹורָ ה, ּפֹה חּתִפְרַ ּגַם שְׂפַתהַּתֹורָ ה. played at many graduation ceremonies at sioned by Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, Here in the Land our ancestors yearned for the Military Medical School. for the Israeli Song Festival, held on May -the night after Israel’s 19th Inde ,1967 ,15 הֵם הִתְקַּדְ מּו לְאַט.הַ ּכֹלהָ יָה רָ גּועַ. מִ ּנֶ ֶ דג הַ ּנָהָ ר ֻוְגּמָ א ,All hopes will be fulfilled pendence Day. East Yerushalayim was מְרַׁשְרֵ ׁש ּפִתְאֹוםרַ עַם ּבָרָ ק, אֶחָדצָעַק: ּפָצּועַ! אֲ נִ י Here we will live and here we will build, controlled by Jordan, and Jews had been ּכְבָר ּבָא- עָ נָה לֹו הַחֹובֵׁש. עָ לִינּו עַלמֹוקֵׁש! - צָעַ ק .banned from visiting the Old City אָז הַּפָצּועַ,אֲ נִי ּכָאן, לְצִּדְ ָך -עָ נָה לֹו הַחֹובֵ ׁש... ,A shining life, a life of freedom Three weeks later, when the Six-Day War “נִּצַ לְנּו, הֵם ּבָאִ ים!” - ִּבֵב יאָז הַּפָצּועַ, אַ ְך ֹלא ,Here shall the Shechina dwell broke out, the song became a morale- ׁשָמַעמִ ילָה מִן הַחֹובֵׁש. “אֲחִי, אֲחִיׁשֶ ּלִ י!” - ִי ּבֵ ב And here the language of booster for the Israeli soldiers. On June אָז הַּפָצּועַ, רמֵעֵבֶ לַּנָהָר הַּגֻּמָאמְרַׁשְרֵ ׁש. the Torah will flourish 7th, 1967, the IDF freed eastern Yerusha- They progressed slowly. Everything was calm. layim, the Old City and Har HaBayit On the other side, the river from the Jordanians. At the time, Shemer and rustling reeds. was about to perform for a troop of

52 | paratroopers. She quickly penned a new it instantly became a national hit and one Chai, chai, chai verse – instead of “Alas . . . the [Old City] of Einstein’s most well known and beloved Yes, I’m still alive shuk is empty and we cannot visit Har songs, and won second and third place in This is the song my grandfather HaBayit,” she wrote: “We have returned different competitions. The idea of the Sang yesterday to my father to . . . the shuk; the shofar is sounding at song is simple: individuals have the power the Har HaBayit,” a reference to IDF Chief to change the world, little by little. And today, I Rabbi, Shlomo Goren, sounding the shofar Am still alive אֲנִי וְאַּתָ הנְׁשַ ּנֶה אֶת הָ עֹולָם, אֲ נִי וְאַּתָה אָ ז after regaining Har HaBayit. יָבֹואּו ּכְבָר ּכֻּלָם, אָמְרּו אֶ ת זֶ ה קֹדֶ ם לְפָ נַי, זֶ ה ֹלא מְׁשַ ּנֶה - אֲ נִי הוְאַּתָ נְׁשַ ּנֶה אֶת הָ עֹולָ ם. Yerushalayim Shel Zahav was proposed as the Israeli national anthem. You and I will change the world אֲוִיר הָרִ ים צָלּול ּכַ ּיַיִןוְרֵ יחַ אֳרָ נִים נִּׂשָ א You and I, and everyone else will join ּבְרּוחַ הָעַרְ ּבַ יִם עִם קֹול ּפַעֲ מֹונִ ים. They’ve said it before us ּובְתַרְּדֵמַתאִ ילָן וָאֶבֶןׁשְ בּויָה ּבַחֲלֹומָּה הָעִיר אֲׁשֶ ר So what? You and I will change the world ּבָדָדיֹוׁשֶ בֶת ּובְ לִּבָּה חֹומָ ה.יְרּוׁשָ לַיִם לׁשֶ בזָהָ וְׁשֶ ל מֹו ֶדה ֲא ִני נְחֹׁשֶת וְׁשֶלאֹור הַ ֹּלא לְכָל ׁשִירַ יְִךאֲ נִיּכִ ּנֹור. The mountain air is clear as wine MODEH ANI And the sent of pines is carried Written by Omer Adam in 2014. on the twilight wind With the sound of bells The song Modeh Ani is a popular modern In the slumber of trees and stone Israeli hit in the Mizrachi genre. The artist thanks G-d for his talents and his abil- She is captured within her dream ity to create and sing music, recognizing ַחי The city who sits alone, and that it is all from Him and dedicating his CHAI in her heart, a wall songs to G-d. Although Omer Adam does Yerushalayim of gold, and of Written by and Avi Toledano not consider himself religious, he turned bronze and of light in 1983. down an opportunity to compete in the I am a violin for all of your songs Eurovision Song Contest which was due The song was Israel’s entry in the Euro- to take place on Shabbat. He refuses to vision Song Contest in 1983, winning perform on Shabbat, which, together with second place, and was declared “Song of the words of the song, show how religious the Year” in Israel. messages have made their way into and The song begins with the exclamation that become part of mainstream Israeli secular the singer is still alive; despite her thorns, pop music. מֹודֶה אֲ נִ י ּכֹל ּבֹקֶר ׁשֶהֱחְ זַרְ ּתָ תאֶ נִׁשְמָתִ י she also has many flowers. The song is a המֹודֶ אֲ נִי עַל ּבֶ ֶ ד גׁשֶהֵ נַחְּתָ עַלּגּופִ י .metaphor for the Jewish people ׁשֶ ֹּלאיִהְ יֶה לִי קַר אַּתָהׁשֹומֵר עָ לַ י When Ehud Manor heard that the 1983

Eurovision Contest was going to take place I thank You every morning ֲא ִני ְו ַא ָּתה in Munich, Germany, he wrote this song, ANI VE’ATA That You’ve returned my soul hinting that, despite the Holocaust and I thank You for placing Written by Arik Einstein with music by the Munich Olympics massacre a decade Miki Gavrielov in 1971. earlier, the Jewish people are still here. Upon my body, clothes You protect me חַי, חַי,חַ יּכֵן, אֲ נִי עֹוד חַ י זֶה הַּׁשִיר ׁשֶּסָבָ א First sung by one of the most celebrated So I will not be cold ַר ׁשאֶתְ מֹול לְאַּבָ אוְהַּיֹום אֲ נִ י חַ י ,Israeli musicians of all time, Arik Einstein

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