Ha Tikvah (Hebrew: הַתִּקְוָה, "The Hope") is the national anthem of the State of Israel. It was written by Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909), who settled in Palestine in 1882 from Galicia (now divided between Poland and the Ukraine). The musical arrangement is by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia, from a theme in Smetana's Moldau which was itself partly based on a Scandinavian folk song.
Ha Tikvah expresses the hope of the Jewish people that they would return to the land of their forefathers as prophesied in the Bible. During the two thousand years of exile, the Jewish people said daily prayers for return to Israel while facing the East in the direction of Jerusalem. Zion is synonymous with Israel and Jerusalem.
Lyrics
| כל עוד בלבב פנימה נפש יהודי הומיה, ולפאתי מזרח קדימה, עין לציון צופיה, |
Kol od baleivav p'nimah Nefesh y'hudi homiyah Ulfa'atei mizrach kadimah Ayin l'tziyon tzofiyah |
As long as in the heart, within, A Jewish soul is yearning, And to the edges of the East, forward, An eye watches towards Zion, |
| עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו, התקווה בת שנות אלפים, להיות עם חופשי בארצנו, ארץ ציון וירושלים. |
Od lo avdah tikvateinu Hatikvah bat sh'not alpayim Lihyot am chofshi b'artzeinu Eretz tziyon viyrushalayim |
Our hope is not yet lost, The hope of two thousand years, To be a free nation in our own land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem. |
External links
- Listen to Ha Tikvah (hosted at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- YouTube: Ha Tikvah sung by Barbra Streisand at the conclusion of the 1978 Stars Salute Israel show
- [1] Rare recording of Al Jolson singing Ha Tikvah