Jerusalem Day- June 1, 2011, 28th of Iyar
Following the Six-Day War, on June 27, 1967, the Israeli Government presented the Knesset with three resolutions. These proposals determined the unification of Jerusalem and sanctioned the application of Israeli law in the entire unified city. At the same time, a law was adopted that enabled free access to all holy places. The following year, the Government decided to make the 28th of Iyar Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, a day that symbolizes the continued historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. In 1980, Jerusalem was declared the capital of Israel and the location of all state authorities.
This year, Yom Yerushalayim falls on June 1. On this day, students from all over the country will come to Jerusalem, marching towards the Old City and the Kotel, filling the streets with blue and white and thousands of flags. The central ceremony will be held on Ammunition Hill, one of the sites of the harshest fighting in the battle over the city.
After the Six-Day War, the city and its environs underwent an intensive and unprecedented process of restoration and development. Institutions were built, entire new neighborhoods were established and an extensive system of roads and transportation infrastructure was constructed. Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, has become a large and expansive city. It stands as an inspiration not only to residents of Israel and the Jewish people, but also to the entire world. Jerusalem attracts tourists from around the world who come to see her beauty, to connect to her past and enjoy all the special sounds, smells, and sites of this unique city.
Getting to know Jerusalem through song
One of the ways to measure the importance or popularity of something is by the number of songs or art works connected to it. Jerusalem is praised in music. We learn how Jews dreamed of Jerusalem, envisioned it, and expressed their longing for the city through all the different songs. Many biblical Psalms, styled as songs, were written specifically about Jerusalem. Jewish liturgy and hymns are full of references to Jerusalem. The name of Jerusalem appears in the Bible 669 times.
Countless songs were written after the Six-Day War, when East Jerusalem passed from Jordanian control to Israeli. One of the most famous is “Jerusalem of Gold.” This popular song, written by Naomi Shemer in 1967, described the Jewish people's 2000-year longing to return to Jerusalem; Shemer added a final verse after the Six-Day War to celebrate Jerusalem's unification under Israeli control.
"Jerusalem of Gold" was selected as Song of the Jubilee on Israel's fiftieth Independence Day, celebrated in 1998. In a survey, the song was selected as the most popular in Israel's first 50 years.
Jerusalem of Gold
BY: NAOMI SHEMER / translation by Chaya Galai
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 marketplace 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 marketplace
A ram's horn calls out 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.
Transliteration:
Avir harim tzalul kayayin
vere'akh oranim
nisa beru'akh ha'arbayim
im kol pa'amonim
Uvtardemat ilan va'even
shvuya bakhaloma
ha'ir asher badad yoshevet
uveliba khoma
Yerushalayim shel zahav
veshel nekhoshet veshel or
halo lekol shirayikh
ani kinor.
Eykha yavshu borot hamayim
kikar hashuk reyka.
Ve'eyn poked et Har haBayit
ba'ir ha'atika
Uvamarot asher basela
meyalelot rukhot
ve'eyn yored el Yam haMelakh
bederekh Yerikho.
Yerushalayim shel zahav
veshel nekhoshet veshel or
halo lekol shirayikh
ani kinor.
Akh bevo'i ayom lashir lakh
velakh likshor ktarim
katonti mitze'ir banayikhv
ume'akhron hameshorerim
Ki shmekh tzorev et hasfatayim
kineshikat saraf.
Im eshkakhekh Yerushalayim
asher kula zahav
Yerushalayim shel zahav
veshel nekhoshet veshel or
halo lekol shirayikh
ani kinor.
Khazarnu el borot hamayim
lashuk velakikar.
Shofar kore beHar haBayit
ba'ir ha'atika.
Uvame'arot asher basela
alfey shmashot zorkhot
nashuv nered el Yam haMelakh
bederekh Yerikho.
Yerushalayim shel zahav
veshel nekhoshet veshel or
halo lekol shirayikh
ani kinor.
Enjoy the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8gtdDA5x0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRqST7Qa5kc&feature=related
http://www.amit.org.il/learning/english/jerusalem/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ULIw0Zgaw
http://www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/defaultnew.asp?lng=2