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Remembrance and Independence
Shalom friends,
The spring in the holy land is short yet dense – in a few weeks we mark the events that led to the creation of our nation and the rebirth of our state.
In Passover we celebrate the liberation of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt more than 3,000 years ago and the creation of a nation.
A week after Passover, we commemorate the Jews who perished and those who showed resistance and heroism during the Holocaust. We don’t want to forget that being dependent on others while not having our own country led to this horrible chapter of our history – a chapter in which 6 million Jewish men, women, and children were murdered simply because they were of Jewish origin.
On the following week, we celebrate the birth of the modern state of Israel 63 years ago. Prior to celebrating our independence, we commemorate the fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism – those who have been paving the road to our current existence in this state with their lives.
In this issue we will learn Hebrew words and songs related to these milestones of the Jewish-Israeli history.
This song was composed in the Vilna Ghetto by the Jewish poet Hirsch Glick after receiving the news about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This song later became the general anthem of the Jewish partisans, who defied their Nazi oppressors by actively taking part in an underground war of resistance.
Meaning
Transcription
The Song
Never say: this is my final road,
The daylight was hidden by the cloudy skies!
As the day we’ve longed for is rising and coming up,
And our step beats out: we are here!
al-na tomar: hine darki ha’axrona,
et or hauom histiru shmey ha’anana!
ze yom nixsafnu lo od ya’al veyavo,
umits’adenu od yar’im: anaxnu po!
אַל נָא תֹּאמַר: הִנֵּה דַּרְכִּי הָאַחֲרוֹנָה,
אֶת אוֹר הַיּוֹם הִסְתִּירוּ שְׁמֵי הָעֲנָנָה!
זֶה יוֹם נִכְסַפְנוּ לוֹ עוֹד יַעַל וְיָבוֹא,
וּמִצְעָדֵנוּ עוֹד יַרְעִים: אֲנַחְנוּ פֹּה
You can read the whole song in Hebrew and Yidish and listen to various renditions here.
Jewish Partisans in Ukraine
Million Stars
Lyric and music: Yiftach Kerzner
Performer: Amit Farkas
מִילְיוֹן כּוֹכָבִים
מִלִּים וְלַחַן: יִפְתָּח קרזְנֶּר
בִּצּוּעַ: עָמִית פַרְקַשׁ
Thom Farkas was a fighter helicopter pilot. During the second Lebanon war, on July 2006, Thom’s helicopter crashed on the Lebanon border. Thom and his co-pilot Zvi Luft, were killed instantly. Thom was 23 years old. On his grave, his younger sister Amit sang the following song written by his friend Yiftach Kerzner. This song touched million hearts and became the most identified song of that war.
Meaning
Transcription
The song
You wanted to fly
You wanted to carry on
With a half smile you went up
A million stars in the sky catch the colors in your eyes
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" Thank you for sending me the latest Newsletter. I can honestly say that this is the best and most informative Newsletter I have ever received from anyone. I really enjoyed the article about Tel Ch’ai and Josef Trumpeldor, and then to be able to hear the song sung in Hebrew while reading a phonetic translation was indeed brilliant. And to top it all there are Hebrew puzzles! You are truly gifted teachers to make learning so interesting. Learning a new language is never easy, especially when one has to learn a new alphabet as well, but you make learning a delight.
Many many thanks – todahrabbah!! And long may you continue. Shalom."
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" shalom! I enjoyed the interesting article about the migrating birds in Israël, and the pictures, and the Jeremiah quote ! Thought provoking Todaraba!"
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