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Hatikvah
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- For the political party, see Hatikva (political party). For the Tel Aviv neighbourhood, see Hatikva Quarter.
Hati??ah (The Hope), also ha-Ti??a(h), is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew, who moved to Palestine in the early 1880s. The anthem’s theme revolves around the nearly 2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to be a free and sovereign people in the Land of Israel, a national dream that would eventually be realized with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
text of Hatikvah was written by the Galician-Jewish poet Naphtali Herz Imber in Zolochiv (Ukraine) in 1878 as a nine-stanza poem named Tikvatenu (“Our Hope”) [see full text below].
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Encyclopedia
- For the political party, see Hatikva (political party). For the Tel Aviv neighbourhood, see Hatikva Quarter.
Hati??ah (The Hope), also ha-Ti??a(h), is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew, who moved to Palestine in the early 1880s. The anthem’s theme revolves around the nearly 2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to be a free and sovereign people in the Land of Israel, a national dream that would eventually be realized with the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948.
History
Composition
The text of Hatikvah was written by the Galician-Jewish poet Naphtali Herz Imber in Zolochiv (Ukraine) in 1878 as a nine-stanza poem named Tikvatenu (“Our Hope”) [see full text below]. In this poem Imber puts into words his thoughts and feelings in the wake of the establishment of Petah Tikva, one of the first Jewish settlements in pre-State Palestine. Published in Imber’s first book, Barkai (?????, “Morning Star”), the poem was subsequently adopted as the anthem of Hovevei Zion and later of the Zionist Movement at the First Zionist Congress in 1897. The text was later revised by the settlers of Rishon LeZion, subsequently undergoing a number of other changes.
The melody, of folk origin (thought to be "Cucuruz cu frunza-n sus", Maize with standing leaf), was arranged by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia.
Adoption as national anthem
When the State of Israel was declared in 1948, ha-Tikvah was unofficially proclaimed the national anthem. However, it did not officially become the national anthem until November 2004, when it was sanctioned by the Knesset in an amendment to the “Flag and Coat-of-Arms Law” (now called “The Flag, Coat-of-Arms, and National Anthem Law”).
In its modern rendering, the official text of the anthem incorporates only the first stanza and refrain of the original poem. The predominant theme in the remaining stanzas is the establishment of a sovereign and free nation in Eretz Israel, a hope largely seen as fulfilled with the founding of the State of Israel.
Religious objections to Hati??ah
Many Haredi Jews object to Hatikvah on the grounds that the anthem is too secular and lacks sufficient religious emphasis.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook objected to the secular thrust of Hatikvah and wrote an alternative anthem titled “HaEmunah” in the hope that it would replace Hatikvah as the Israeli national anthem. Rav Kook did not object to the singing of Hatikvah (and in fact has endorsed it) as he had great respect for secular Jews, indicating that even in their work it was possible to see a level of kedushah (holiness).
Objections by non-Jewish Israelis
Some Arab Israelis object to Hatikvah due to its explicit allusions to Judaism. In particular, the text’s reference to the yearnings of “a Jewish soul” is often cited as preventing non-Jews from personally identifying with the anthem. Notably, Ghaleb Majadale, who in January 2007 became the first Arab to be appointed as a minister in the Israeli cabinet, sparked a controversy when he publicly refused to sing the anthem, stating that the song was written for Jews only.
From time to time proposals have been made to change the national anthem or to modify the text in order to make it more acceptable to non-Jewish Israelis; however, no such proposals have succeeded in gaining broad support.
Music
The melody for Hatikvah derives from “La Mantovana,” a 16th-century Italian song, originally written by Giuseppino del Biado ca. 1600 with the text "Fuggi, fuggi, fuggi dal questo cielo". Its earliest known appearance in print was in the del Biado's collection of madrigals. It was later known in early 17th-century Italy as “Ballo di Mantova.” This melody gained wide currency in Renaissance Europe, being recorded variously as the Sephardi melody for the Hallel prayer; the Hebrew folk song “The Prayer for the Dew”; the Polish folk song “Pod Krakowem”; and the Ukrainian “Kateryna Kucheryava.” This melody was also famously used by the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana in his symphonic poem celebrating Bohemia, “Má vlast,” as “Vltava” (Die Moldau).
The adaptation of the music for Hatikvah is believed to have been composed by Samuel Cohen in 1888. Cohen himself recalled many years later that he had adapted the melody from a Romanian folk song, possibly “Carul cu boi” (“Carriage with Oxen”), which shares a few structural elements with Hatikvah.
The tune of Hatikvah is modal and mostly follows a minor scale, which is often perceived as mournful in tone and is infrequently encountered in national anthems. However, as the title (“The Hope”) and the words suggest, the import of the song is optimistic and the overall spirit uplifting.
Official text
The official text of the national anthem corresponds to the first stanza and amended refrain of the original nine-stanza poem by Naftali Herz Imber. Along with the original Hebrew, the corresponding transliteration and English translation are listed below.
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Kol ‘od balleivav penimah
| As long as in the heart, within,> Nefesh yehudi homiyah,
| A Jewish soul still yearns,> Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah,
| And onward, towards the ends of the east,> ‘Ayin letziyon tzofiyah;
| An eye still gazes toward Zion;> |
‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,
| Our hope is not yet lost,> Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim,
| The hope of two thousand years,> Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzeinu,
| To be a free people in our land,> Eretz-tziyon vy(e)rushalayim.
| The land of Zion and Jerusalem.>
Some people compare the first line of the refrain, “Our hope is not yet lost” (“??? ?? ???? ???????”), to the opening of the Polish national anthem, Poland Is Not Yet Lost (), or to the Ukrainian national anthem, Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished (). This line may also be a Biblical allusion to Ezekiel’s “Vision of the Dried Bones” (Ezekiel 37: “…Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost”), describing the despair of the Jewish people in exile, and God’s promise to redeem them and lead them back to the Land of Israel. However, this connection has not been proven, and the Polish allusion is more likely given Imber’s background.
The official text of Hatikvah is relatively short; indeed it is a single complex sentence, consisting of two clauses: the subordinate clause posits the condition (“As long as… A soul still yearns… And… An eye still watches…”), while the independent clause specifies the outcome (“Our hope is not yet lost… To be a free nation in our own land”).
Text of Tikvatenu by Naphtali Herz Imber
Below is the full text of the original nine-stanza poem Tikvatenu by Naftali Herz Imber. The current version of the Israeli national anthem corresponds to the first stanza of this poem and the amended refrain.
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–I–> Kol-‘od balleivav penimah
| As long as in the heart, within,> Nefesh yehudi homiyah,
| A Jewish soul still yearns,> Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah,
| And onward, towards the ends of the east,> ‘Ayin letziyon tzofiyah;
| An eye still looks toward Zion;> |
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| Refrain> ‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,
| Our hope is not yet lost,> Hatikvah hannoshanah,
| The ancient hope,> Lashuv le’eretz avoteinu,
| To return to the land of our fathers,> La‘ir bah david k'hanah.
| The city where David encamped.> |
–II–> Kol-‘od dema‘ot me‘eineinu
| As long as tears from our eyes> Yizzelu kegeshem nedavot,
| Flow like benevolent rain,> Urevavot mibbenei ‘ammeinu
| And throngs of our countrymen> ‘Od hol(e)chim ‘al kivrei avot;
| Still pay homage at the graves of (our) fathers;> |
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| Refrain> |
–III–> Kol-‘od chomat mach(a)maddeinu
| As long as our precious Wall> Le‘eineinu mofa‘at,
| Appears before our eyes,> Ve‘al churban mikdasheinu
| And over the destruction of our Temple> ‘Ayin achat ‘od doma‘at;
| An eye still wells up with tears;> |
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| Refrain> |
–IV–> Kol-‘od mei hayarden bega’on
| As long as the waters of the Jordan> Melo’ gedotav yizzolu,
| In fullness swell its banks,> Uleyam kinneret besha’on
| And (down) to the Sea of Galilee> Bekol hamulah yippolu;
| With tumultuous noise fall;> |
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| Refrain> |
–V–> Kol-‘od sham ‘alei drachayim
| As long as on the barren highways> Sha‘ar yukkat she’iyah,
| The humbled city gates mark,> Uvein charvot yerushalayim
| And among the ruins of Jerusalem> ‘Od bat tziyon bochiyah;
| A daughter of Zion still cries;> |
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| Refrain> |
–VI–> Kol-‘od dema‘ot tehorot
| As long as pure tears> Me‘ein bat ‘ammi nozlot,
| Flow from the eye of a daughter of my nation,> Velivkot letziyon berosh ’ashmorot
| And to mourn for Zion at the watch of night> ‘Od takum bachatzi halleilot;
| She still rises in the middle of the nights;> |
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| Refrain> |
–VII–> Kol-‘od nitfei dam be‘orkeinu
| As long as drops of blood in our veins> Ratzo’ vashov yizzolu,
| Flow back and forth,> Va‘alei kivrot avoteinu
| And upon the graves of our fathers> ‘Od eglei tal yippolu;
| Dewdrops still fall;> |
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| Refrain> |
–VIII–> Kol-‘od regesh ahavat halle’om
| As long as the feeling of love of nation> Beleiv hayhudi po‘eim,
| Throbs in the heart of the Jew,> ‘Od nuchal kavvot gam hayyom
| We can still hope even today> Ki ‘od yerachmeinu ’eil zo‘eim;
| That a wrathful God may still have mercy on us;> |
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| Refrain> |
–IX–> Shim‘u achai be’artzot nudi
| Hear, O my brothers in the lands of exile,> Et kol achad chozeinu,
| The voice of one of our visionaries,> Ki rak ‘im acharon hayhudi
| (Who declares) That only with the very last Jew —> Gam acharit tikvateinu!
| Only there is the end of our hope!> |
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| Refrain>
Media
External links
- Educational guide published by the Jewish Agency for Israel
- From the Jewish Virtual Library
- As performed by Shiri Maimon; links to more renditions are available from this page
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