By Faith Macomber
Naftali Herz Imber was born in 1856 and died in 1909. Naftali wrote the words to Hatikvah, the name Hatikvah means “The Hope”. Samuel Cohen wrote the music for Hatikvah, from the theme in Smetana’s “Moldau” that was partly based on a Scandinavian folk song.
Hatikvah expresses the hope of the Jewish people, that they someday would return to the land of their forefathers as prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.
The Jewish people were driven from Israel when Titus and the Roman army came in and destroyed the Temple of Jerusalem in 70C.E. The Jewish people during the two thousand years, said special prayers that they would be able to return to return to Israel, while facing the East in the direction of Israel. They celebrates the holidays according to the Hebrew calendar and seasons.
Hatikvah has been around for more than 100 years. Nobody ever actually chose “Hatikvah” as Israel’s national anthem. The state inherited it, and several Zionist movements. The public has embraced it wholeheartedly.
A lot of people say that the anthem’s time has passed and they need a new one, but Hatikvah is the most appropriate anthem for the state of Israel.
Before Naftali Herz Imber died, he managed to travel through Europe, Palestine, Britain, and the United Sates, and everywhere he went he wrote poetry, and recited it to anyone who would listen.
In 1948, “Hatikvah” became the new country’s national anthem, by default.
Hatikvah
(The Hope)
While yet within the heart—inwardly
The soul of the Jew yearns,
And towards the vistas of the East—eastwards
An eye to Zion looks.
‘Tis not yet lost, our hope,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land,
In the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
To be a free people in our land
In the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
Sources:
Information at: http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/8859/edition_id/168/format/html/displaystory.html
Information at: http://w3.kfar-olami.org.il/reed/resources/landmark/zionist/hatikva.htm
Information at: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/hatikva.html
Information at: http://www.science.co.il/Israel-anthem.asp
