... Hatikva, National Anthem of Israel ...

... Recommend this page to a friend.

History of Hatikva ... Original Version ... Modern Version

HISTORY OF HATIKVA
The title of the national anthem of Israel, Hatikva, means "The Hope." It was written by Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909), who moved to Palestine in 1882 from Galicia. It was written apparently in honor of the founding of Petah Tiqva, the first new Jewish settlement. The melody was arranged by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia, from a musical theme in Smetana's "Moldau" that is partly based on a Scandinavian folk song.

In 1898, the Zionist organization advertised a competition for an official anthem in the newspaper, Die Welt, and again in 1900 a song was called for, but none was found. In 1901, the song that was then called Tikvateynu was sung at a Zionist congress, and in 1905 Hatikvah was sung by all the delegates at the seventh Zionist congress.

In the course of its evolution, the words of the song were changed slightly. Originally "The land of Zion and Jerusalem" was "where David once lived" (the way Al Jolson sang it) and the original words "to live in the land of our fathers" were changed to "to be a free nation in our own land." The accenting of the words was changed from the Ashkenazi (European) pronunciation to the Sephardic (Spanish or eastern) pronunciation which was adopted for modern Hebrew. That change necessitated a change in the melody as well.

Personally I prefer the Ashkenazi pronunciation if only for musical reasons. In the modern Hebrew (Sephardic), the Hebrew "tov" is pronounced with a hard 't' whereas in the older version (Ashkenazi), the hard 't' becomes softer and in general, it approaches the sounds of beautiful Yiddish. Can anyone ask for better than that? *S*

We continue ... Hatikva expresses the hope of the Jewish people, that they would someday return to the land of their forefathers as prophesied in the Torah. The Jewish people were exiled from Israel in 70 C.E. by the Roman army led by Titus who destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Most of the Jews were carried away as captives and scattered across the lands of the world. During the two thousand years of exile, the Jewish people have said special daily prayers for return to Israel while facing the East in the direction of Jerusalem. They celebrate the holidays according to Hebrew seasons and calendar. Zion is synonymous with Israel and Jerusalem.

This is the message of the Hatikvah's first stanza. Zion is another name for Israel and Jerusalem. When the Jewish people pray, their eyes, hearts and prayers are directed toward Israel and Jerusalem. For many long painful years, the land of Israel was in the hands of foreigners. The Jews who lived in Palestine were not free. Yet their hope for freedom and independence never died. The second stanza of the Hatikva recalls the undying hope of Jews through the generation, Jews who lived in other countries and Jews who had remained in Palestine.

When we sing the Hatikva together, we are doing much more than just singing a nice melody. We are making a promise that we will never forget the undying Jewish hope. Here are the words in transliteration:

HEBREW LYRICS (ORIGINAL)

The poem was originally called Tikvaseynu (Tikvataynu?), Our Hope, as sung by Al Jolson, and, as you see, somewhat different words than the modern version below.

Kol od ba-levov p'nimo
Nefesh yehudi homiyoh
Ulfasay mizrach kodimo
Ayin la tziyon tsofiyoh

Od lo ovdo tsikvoseinu
Hatikvo hanoshono
Loshuv l'eretz avoseinu
L'yichod Dovid, Dovid chano

Loshuv l'eretz avoseinu
L'yichod Dovid, Dovid chano

If you want to download the ... Al Jolson Sings Hatikva ... version of the above, try this link. If it is still available, you'll forget all about "Mammy" and "The Anniversary Song" hmm, or was it the anniversary waltz? - "Oh, how we danced, on the night, we were..." (it went something like that; it was so long ago. I mean, who can remember).

Here's a rare recording of the "Hatikva" from mid 20th century. It was recorded by a British reporter in May 1945 in Bergen-Belsen when the British army liberated the few thousand survivors in the concentration camp, half of which were Jewish; most of them were at the extremes of their strength. A British priest organized prayers for Shabbas for the Jews, it was the first time after 6 years of war and after more than 10 years of persecution.

Now it is not my habit to document everything (I plead guilty to that) so I’m not sure where I got that “British priest” tidbit. So email came to me from a John Burman (I think he is an attorney in the United Kingdom) who corrects me saying it is not true and it was "Reverend Leslie Henry Hardman MBE, HCF, (February 18 1913 – October 7 2008), who was an Orthodox Rabbi and the first Jewish British Army Chaplain to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, an experience 'that made him a public figure, both within his community and outside it'" He adds this wikipedia entry: Leslie Hardman.

I accept his correction. Even if I tried to refute it (which I won't try as I see he is quite well informed), his being an attorney, I would end up being charged by the word. So far, I haven't been billed for his correction ... so far. If he does, he’s going to hear from me about that British royalty tradition, blue blood, bowing and curtsying, and all that stuff. Do you know (and this came from a British television documentary), every time her highness travels, wherever she stays, she insists on having a new toilet seat? And her towels have to be new, washed three times, and ironed. Go on, let him bill me *s*.

And then there's the history of Great Britain's war against the founding of the state of Israel. Let Sir Burman read Ben Hecht's account of that history in his (Ben Hecht's) book, "Perfidy". Just let him bill me.

So with a lot of effort the Jews organized themselves and knowing they were being recorded, they sang "Hatikva". So speakers on now and let's listen. After the liberation ... Hatikva from Bergen-Belsen ... G-d bless Israel.

MODERN VERSION

Kol od balevav p'nimah
Nefesh Yehudi homiyah
Ulfa'atey mizrach kadimah
Ayin l'tzion tzofiyah

Od lo avdoh tsikvoseinu
Hatikvah (bat) shnot alpayim
L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzeinu
Eretz Tzion v'Yerushalayim

L'hiyot am chofshi b'artzeinu
Eretz Tzion v'Yerushalayim

 As long as deep in the heart,
The soul of a Jew yearns,
And turns to the East
To Zion, an eye looks

Our hope will not be lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

All right, c'mon everybody, all together now. Let's sing ... SING, I SAID SING.

Comments, questions, suggestions, and criticisms are always welcomed.

Now this way to the ... Index of Jewish Studies ... there is plenty more.
This'll bring us to the ... Navigator ... the heart of this site.

1