A Cultural Journey to Israel@70 Over All These Things

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A Cultural Journey to Israel@70 Over All These Things

A Cultural Journey to Israel@70 February 21, 2018 | Shabbat Tetzaveh 5778 Listen to a YouTube presentation of the song here. Over All These Things by Naomi Shemer Naomi Shemer was an Israeli singer, songwriter and composer known commonly as the “First Lady of Israeli Song.” Shemer (July 13, 1930; died June 26, 2004) was born on Kvuzat Kinneret and grew up overlooking the shores of the Jordan. Many of her songs recreate the landscape that was such a part of her youth and reflect her love of the topography and scenery of Eretz Yisrael. Shemer's music linked the ordinary to the festive, the landscapes of Lake Kinneret to the White City of Tel Aviv, her own biography to the history of Israel between war and peace. Shemer's longing for the landscapes in which she grew up wove itself flawlessly into her ability to listen to new tones and unexpected voices. The connection to childhood gave many of her songs a charm and innocence. At her best she was able to balance all of her loves and write songs that sketched the tension between past and present without attempting to resolve that tension too glibly. In 1967, Shemer was asked to compose a song for the Israel Song Festival. Though not itself part of the competition, the three stanzas of “Yerushalayim shel Zahav” (“Jerusalem of Gold”) became instantly popular. Particularly because the Festival occurred just before the 1967 Six-Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem, the song acquired a national significance that spoke to the country’s longing for Jerusalem and its surrounding areas. For her immense contribution to Israeli music, Shemer was awarded the Israel prize in 1983. .

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