Israel Emmiot, Jerusalem
I never saw you, my city, but you were for me,
Reality seen in dream....
You stood, Jerusalem, so close to my heart
Where do you, wonderful city, start?
Later I know you from old collecting stamps
For the funds to help the pious pilgrims in Jerusalem,
Three trees weeping by the Wailing Wall
Weeping like my birch trees here
That sway in the autumn-wind by the cross-roads
Is nothing more left, father dear,
Than this wall here,
And the trees that grow out of it?
Nothing more, my child, nothing more at all.
Yet when a book came
From Jerusalem
Because we stinted ourselves bread
And sent a few coins to the fund
For the pious pilgrims living in Jerusalem,
And he saw the words printed on
the title page-
"Jerusalem, the holy city."
His shrunken face with the bones showing through
Lighted up with an astonishing light,
And his old, dim eyes shone bright:
"Come here, my son, look at this,
A new book from Jerusalem,
come here and these pages kiss!"
I never saw you, my city, but you were for me,
Reality seen in dream....
You stood, Jerusalem, so close to my heart
Where do you, wonderful city, start?
Later I know you from old collecting stamps
For the funds to help the pious pilgrims in Jerusalem,
Three trees weeping by the Wailing Wall
Weeping like my birch trees here
That sway in the autumn-wind by the cross-roads
Is nothing more left, father dear,
Than this wall here,
And the trees that grow out of it?
Nothing more, my child, nothing more at all.
Yet when a book came
From Jerusalem
Because we stinted ourselves bread
And sent a few coins to the fund
For the pious pilgrims living in Jerusalem,
And he saw the words printed on
the title page-
"Jerusalem, the holy city."
His shrunken face with the bones showing through
Lighted up with an astonishing light,
And his old, dim eyes shone bright:
"Come here, my son, look at this,
A new book from Jerusalem,
come here and these pages kiss!"
You are shaking… so am I. It is because of Jerusalem, isn’t it? One does not go to Jerusalem, one returns to it. That’s one of its mysteries.”
- Elie Wiesel
- Elie Wiesel
Everywhere I go, I am going to Jerusalem ––Rabbi Nachman of Breslov
(א) שִׁ֥יר מִ֝זְמ֗וֹר לִבְנֵי־קֹֽרַח׃ (ב) גָּ֘ד֤וֹל יְהֹוָ֣ה וּמְהֻלָּ֣ל מְאֹ֑ד בְּעִ֥יר אֱ֝לֹהֵ֗ינוּ הַר־קׇדְשֽׁוֹ׃ (ג) יְפֵ֥ה נוֹף֮ מְשׂ֢וֹשׂ כׇּל־הָ֫אָ֥רֶץ הַר־צִ֭יּוֹן יַרְכְּתֵ֣י צָפ֑וֹן קִ֝רְיַ֗ת מֶ֣לֶךְ רָֽב׃ (ד) אֱלֹהִ֥ים בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֶ֗יהָ נוֹדַ֥ע לְמִשְׂגָּֽב׃ (ה) כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֣ה הַ֭מְּלָכִים נ֥וֹעֲד֑וּ עָבְר֥וּ יַחְדָּֽו׃ (ו) הֵ֣מָּה רָ֭אוּ כֵּ֣ן תָּמָ֑הוּ נִבְהֲל֥וּ נֶחְפָּֽזוּ׃ (ז) רְ֭עָדָה אֲחָזָ֣תַם שָׁ֑ם חִ֝֗יל כַּיּוֹלֵדָֽה׃ (ח) בְּר֥וּחַ קָדִ֑ים תְּ֝שַׁבֵּ֗ר אֳנִיּ֥וֹת תַּרְשִֽׁישׁ׃ (ט) כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר שָׁמַ֨עְנוּ ׀ כֵּ֤ן רָאִ֗ינוּ בְּעִיר־יְהֹוָ֣ה צְ֭בָאוֹת בְּעִ֣יר אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ אֱלֹ֘הִ֤ים יְכוֹנְנֶ֖הָ עַד־עוֹלָ֣ם סֶֽלָה׃ (י) דִּמִּ֣ינוּ אֱלֹהִ֣ים חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ בְּ֝קֶ֗רֶב הֵיכָלֶֽךָ׃ (יא) כְּשִׁמְךָ֤ אֱלֹהִ֗ים כֵּ֣ן תְּ֭הִלָּתְךָ עַל־קַצְוֵי־אֶ֑רֶץ צֶ֝֗דֶק מָלְאָ֥ה יְמִינֶֽךָ׃ (יב) יִשְׂמַ֤ח ׀ הַר־צִיּ֗וֹן תָּ֭גֵלְנָה בְּנ֣וֹת יְהוּדָ֑ה לְ֝מַ֗עַן מִשְׁפָּטֶֽיךָ׃ (יג) סֹ֣בּוּ צִ֭יּוֹן וְהַקִּיפ֑וּהָ סִ֝פְר֗וּ מִגְדָּלֶֽיהָ׃ (יד) שִׁ֤יתוּ לִבְּכֶ֨ם ׀ לְֽחֵילָ֗ה פַּסְּג֥וּ אַרְמְנוֹתֶ֑יהָ לְמַ֥עַן תְּ֝סַפְּר֗וּ לְד֣וֹר אַֽחֲרֽוֹן׃ (טו) כִּ֤י זֶ֨ה ׀ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֱ֭לֹהֵינוּ עוֹלָ֣ם וָעֶ֑ד ה֖וּא יְנַהֲגֵ֣נוּ עַל־מֽוּת׃ {פ}
(1) A song. A psalm of the Korahites.
(2) The LORD is great and much acclaimed
in the city of our God,
His holy mountain— (3) fair-crested, joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, summit of Zaphon,
city of the great king. (4) Through its citadels, God has made Himself known as a haven. (5) See, the kings joined forces;
they advanced together. (6) At the mere sight of it they were stunned,
they were terrified, they panicked; (7) they were seized there with a trembling,
like a woman in the throes of labor, (8) as the Tarshish fleet was wrecked
in an easterly gale. (9) The likes of what we heard we have now witnessed
in the city of the LORD of hosts,
in the city of our God—
may God preserve it forever! Selah.
(10) In Your temple, God,
we meditate upon Your faithful care. (11) The praise of You, God, like Your name,
reaches to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is filled with beneficence. (12) Let Mount Zion rejoice!
Let the towns of Judah exult,
because of Your judgments.
(13) Walk around Zion,
circle it;
count its towers, (14) take note of its ramparts;
go through-d its citadels,
that you may recount it to a future age. (15) For God—He is our God forever;
He will lead us evermore.-d
(2) The LORD is great and much acclaimed
in the city of our God,
His holy mountain— (3) fair-crested, joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, summit of Zaphon,
city of the great king. (4) Through its citadels, God has made Himself known as a haven. (5) See, the kings joined forces;
they advanced together. (6) At the mere sight of it they were stunned,
they were terrified, they panicked; (7) they were seized there with a trembling,
like a woman in the throes of labor, (8) as the Tarshish fleet was wrecked
in an easterly gale. (9) The likes of what we heard we have now witnessed
in the city of the LORD of hosts,
in the city of our God—
may God preserve it forever! Selah.
(10) In Your temple, God,
we meditate upon Your faithful care. (11) The praise of You, God, like Your name,
reaches to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is filled with beneficence. (12) Let Mount Zion rejoice!
Let the towns of Judah exult,
because of Your judgments.
(13) Walk around Zion,
circle it;
count its towers, (14) take note of its ramparts;
go through-d its citadels,
that you may recount it to a future age. (15) For God—He is our God forever;
He will lead us evermore.-d
Zaphon/Tzaphon
The word צפוֹן in Hebrew means north, an odd distinction for the location of Mt. Zion and Jerusalem. But perhaps there is some deeper meaning to be found in the root of the word. צפוּן in Hebrew means "hidden," just as it is the title of the section of passover where we look for the afikomen, which is hidden by parents for children to find. To this end, the Psalm may be suggesting that although we can see the top of Mt. Zion, its true summit lies hidden from our view, but reaches far into the heavens above.
––Josh Franklin
The word צפוֹן in Hebrew means north, an odd distinction for the location of Mt. Zion and Jerusalem. But perhaps there is some deeper meaning to be found in the root of the word. צפוּן in Hebrew means "hidden," just as it is the title of the section of passover where we look for the afikomen, which is hidden by parents for children to find. To this end, the Psalm may be suggesting that although we can see the top of Mt. Zion, its true summit lies hidden from our view, but reaches far into the heavens above.
––Josh Franklin
For this God is our God forever and ever; He will lead us eternally. How does a parent teach a child to walk? The parent will place the child at a distance and encourage her to come closer. The child will approach, wavering, and perhaps fall. The parent will lift the child and move further away. The closer the child reaches, the further the parent retreats. Eventually the child will learn to walk on her own. If the parent were to hover over the child, never allowing her to fail, she would never reach
her full potential. So does God do with His children. He may place Himself at a distance and leave us to our own devices. Having been allowed to fall, we can examine what went wrong, how we have failed, thereby progressing toward walking on our own, toward a self-made perfection that God finds so beautiful. Hence: He will lead us eternally-God is always a step away, urging us to follow (Baal Shem Tov).
her full potential. So does God do with His children. He may place Himself at a distance and leave us to our own devices. Having been allowed to fall, we can examine what went wrong, how we have failed, thereby progressing toward walking on our own, toward a self-made perfection that God finds so beautiful. Hence: He will lead us eternally-God is always a step away, urging us to follow (Baal Shem Tov).
(א) שִׁ֗יר הַֽמַּ֫עֲל֥וֹת בְּשׁ֣וּב יְ֭הֹוָה אֶת־שִׁיבַ֣ת צִיּ֑וֹן הָ֝יִ֗ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִֽים׃ (ב) אָ֤ז יִמָּלֵ֪א שְׂח֡וֹק פִּינוּ֮ וּלְשׁוֹנֵ֢נוּ רִ֫נָּ֥ה אָ֭ז יֹאמְר֣וּ בַגּוֹיִ֑ם הִגְדִּ֥יל יְ֝הֹוָ֗ה לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עִם־אֵֽלֶּה׃ (ג) הִגְדִּ֣יל יְ֭הֹוָה לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת עִמָּ֗נוּ הָיִ֥ינוּ שְׂמֵחִֽים׃ (ד) שׁוּבָ֣ה יְ֭הֹוָה אֶת־[שְׁבִיתֵ֑נוּ] (שבותנו) כַּאֲפִיקִ֥ים בַּנֶּֽגֶב׃ (ה) הַזֹּרְעִ֥ים בְּדִמְעָ֗ה בְּרִנָּ֥ה יִקְצֹֽרוּ׃ (ו) הָ֘ל֤וֹךְ יֵלֵ֨ךְ ׀ וּבָכֹה֮ נֹשֵׂ֢א מֶשֶׁךְ־הַ֫זָּ֥רַע בֹּא־יָבֹ֥א בְרִנָּ֑ה נֹ֝שֵׂ֗א אֲלֻמֹּתָֽיו׃ {פ}
1. A song of ascents. When the LORD restores Zion’s fortunes, we should be like dreamers.
2. Then will our mouth fill with laughter and our tongue with glad song. Then will they say in the nations: “Great things has the LORD done with these.”
3. Great things has the LORD done with us. We shall rejoice.
4. Restore, O LORD, our fortunes like freshets in the Negeb.
5 They who sow in tears in glad song will reap.
6. He walks along and weeps, the bearer of the seed-bag. He will surely come in with glad song bearing his sheaves.
Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary . W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
Although waiting is not having, it is also having. The fact that we wait for something shows that in some waywe already possess it. Waiting anciates that which is not yet real. If we wait in hope and patience, the power of that for which we wait is already effective within us . . . . We are stronger when we wait than when we possess.
––Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations, 151
––Paul Tillich, The Shaking of the Foundations, 151
היינו כחולמים. כחלום יעוף בעינינו צרת הגלות מרוב השמחה שתהיה לנו בשובנו לארצנו כן פירשו אדוני אבי ז"ל:
In our great joy during the redemption, we will look back at the travails of exile as no more than a fleeting dream (this is the interpretation of my father Z''L)
אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן כׇּל יָמָיו שֶׁל אוֹתוֹ צַדִּיק הָיָה מִצְטַעֵר עַל מִקְרָא זֶה שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת בְּשׁוּב ה׳ אֶת שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים אָמַר מִי אִיכָּא דְּנָיֵים שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין בְּחֶלְמָא יוֹמָא חַד הֲוָה אָזֵל בְּאוֹרְחָא חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דַּהֲוָה נָטַע חָרוּבָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַאי עַד כַּמָּה שְׁנִין טָעֵין אֲמַר לֵיהּ עַד שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין אֲמַר לֵיהּ פְּשִׁיטָא לָךְ דְּחָיֵית שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין אֲמַר לֵיהּ הַאי גַּבְרָא עָלְמָא בְּחָרוּבָא אַשְׁכַּחְתֵּיהּ כִּי הֵיכִי דִּשְׁתַלוּ לִי אֲבָהָתִי שְׁתַלִי נָמֵי לִבְרָאִי יָתֵיב קָא כָּרֵיךְ רִיפְתָּא אֲתַאי לֵיהּ שִׁינְתָּא נִים אַהְדַּרָא לֵיהּ מְשּׁוּנִּיתָא אִיכַּסִּי מֵעֵינָא וְנִים שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין כִּי קָם חַזְיֵיהּ לְהָהוּא גַּבְרָא דְּהוּא קָא מְלַקֵּט מִינַּיְיהוּ אָמַר לֵיהּ אַתְּ הוּא דִּשְׁתַלְתֵּיהּ אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר בְּרֵיהּ אֲנָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ שְׁמַע מִינַּהּ דִּנְיַימִי שִׁבְעִין שְׁנִין חֲזָא לַחֲמָרְ[תֵּ]יהּ דְּאִתְיְילִידָא לַיהּ רַמְכֵי רַמְכֵי
§ The Gemara relates another story about Ḥoni HaMe’aggel. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the days of the life of that righteous man, Ḥoni, he was distressed over the meaning of this verse: “A song of Ascents: When the Lord brought back those who returned to Zion, we were like those who dream” (Psalms 126:1). He said to himself: Is there really a person who can sleep and dream for seventy years? How is it possible to compare the seventy-year exile in Babylonia to a dream? One day, he was walking along the road when he saw a certain man planting a carob tree. Ḥoni said to him: This tree, after how many years will it bear fruit? The man said to him: It will not produce fruit until seventy years have passed. Ḥoni said to him: Is it obvious to you that you will live seventy years, that you expect to benefit from this tree? He said to him: That man himself found a world full of carob trees. Just as my ancestors planted for me, I too am planting for my descendants. Ḥoni sat and ate bread. Sleep overcame him and he slept. A cliff formed around him, and he disappeared from sight and slept for seventy years. When he awoke, he saw a certain man gathering carobs from that tree. Ḥoni said to him: Are you the one who planted this tree? The man said to him: I am his son’s son. Ḥoni said to him: I can learn from this that I have slept for seventy years, and indeed he saw that his donkey had sired several herds during those many years.
Zion’s fortunes. The Hebrew shivat (ostensibly, “return,” though in the King James Version and other translations rendered as “captivity”) is a mistake for either shevut or shevit (as in verse 4), both attested to in various Hebrew manuscripts. The term means “previous condition.” Precisely this idiom for the restoration of a previous condition is used at the end of Job (42:10). The English rendering of the term as “fortunes” is adopted from the New Jewish Publication Society translation.
Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary . W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
Alter, Robert. The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary . W. W. Norton & Company. Kindle Edition.
Psalm 137
א עַל־נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל ,By the rivers of Babylon
שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִינוּ ,there we sat , oh we wept
בְּזָכְרֵנוּ אֶת־צִיּוֹן: as we remembered Zion
ב עַל־עֲרָבִים בְּתוֹכָהּ ,Upon the willows there
תָּלִינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵינוּ: .we hung our lyres
ג כִּי שָׁם שְׁאֵלוּנוּ שׁוֹבֵינוּ For there our captors asked us for
דִּבְרֵי־שִׁיר ,words of song
וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ שִׂמְחָה :our plunderers for rejoicing saying
שִׁירוּ לָנוּ מִשִּׁיר צִיּוֹן: .Sing a song for us from Zion
ד אֵיךְ נָשִׁיר How can we sing
אֶת־שִׁיר יְהֹוָה songs of YHWH
עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר: ?on foreign soil
ה אִם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָם If I forget you Jerusalem
תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי: .Let my right hand wither
ו תִּדְבַּק־לְשׁוֹנִי לְחִכִּי Let my tongue stick to my palate
אִם־לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי ,if I do not recall you
אִם־לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַם if I do not elevate Jerusalem
עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי: .to the forefront of my joy
ז זְכֹר יְהֹוָה Recall YHWH
לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם the Edomites
אֵת יוֹם יְרוּשָׁלָם .on the day of Jerusalem
הָאֹמְרִים עָרוּ | עָרוּ !How they said: strip it! strip it
עַד הַיְסוֹד בָּהּ: .to its foundation
ח בַּת־בָּבֶל הַשְּׁדוּדָה .Daughter of Babylon, you destroyer
אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־לָךְ אֶת־גְּמוּלֵךְ Blessed is he that pays you back in retribution
שֶׁגָּמַלְתְּ לָנוּ: .for what you have inflicted on us
ט אַשְׁרֵי | שֶׁיֹּאחֵז וְנִפֵּץ Blessed is he that seizes and smashes
אֶת־עֹלָלַיִךְ אֶל־הַסָּלַע: .your little ones against the rock
Translation by Josh Franklin
א עַל־נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל ,By the rivers of Babylon
שָׁם יָשַׁבְנוּ גַּם־בָּכִינוּ ,there we sat , oh we wept
בְּזָכְרֵנוּ אֶת־צִיּוֹן: as we remembered Zion
ב עַל־עֲרָבִים בְּתוֹכָהּ ,Upon the willows there
תָּלִינוּ כִּנֹּרוֹתֵינוּ: .we hung our lyres
ג כִּי שָׁם שְׁאֵלוּנוּ שׁוֹבֵינוּ For there our captors asked us for
דִּבְרֵי־שִׁיר ,words of song
וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ שִׂמְחָה :our plunderers for rejoicing saying
שִׁירוּ לָנוּ מִשִּׁיר צִיּוֹן: .Sing a song for us from Zion
ד אֵיךְ נָשִׁיר How can we sing
אֶת־שִׁיר יְהֹוָה songs of YHWH
עַל אַדְמַת נֵכָר: ?on foreign soil
ה אִם־אֶשְׁכָּחֵךְ יְרוּשָׁלָם If I forget you Jerusalem
תִּשְׁכַּח יְמִינִי: .Let my right hand wither
ו תִּדְבַּק־לְשׁוֹנִי לְחִכִּי Let my tongue stick to my palate
אִם־לֹא אֶזְכְּרֵכִי ,if I do not recall you
אִם־לֹא אַעֲלֶה אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַם if I do not elevate Jerusalem
עַל רֹאשׁ שִׂמְחָתִי: .to the forefront of my joy
ז זְכֹר יְהֹוָה Recall YHWH
לִבְנֵי אֱדוֹם the Edomites
אֵת יוֹם יְרוּשָׁלָם .on the day of Jerusalem
הָאֹמְרִים עָרוּ | עָרוּ !How they said: strip it! strip it
עַד הַיְסוֹד בָּהּ: .to its foundation
ח בַּת־בָּבֶל הַשְּׁדוּדָה .Daughter of Babylon, you destroyer
אַשְׁרֵי שֶׁיְשַׁלֶּם־לָךְ אֶת־גְּמוּלֵךְ Blessed is he that pays you back in retribution
שֶׁגָּמַלְתְּ לָנוּ: .for what you have inflicted on us
ט אַשְׁרֵי | שֶׁיֹּאחֵז וְנִפֵּץ Blessed is he that seizes and smashes
אֶת־עֹלָלַיִךְ אֶל־הַסָּלַע: .your little ones against the rock
Translation by Josh Franklin
The Hebrew word תולל is a hepax legomenon, and may in fact be a scribal error. From the context, the word appears to be synonymously parallel to שׁוֹבֵינוּ. Variants of the text are suggested by the translation found within the Peshita, which renders the text: מוליכינו, those who lead us away. Within the Targum, we see the text as שוללינו, our plunderers. The latter reading seems to be the most fitting understanding. Metzudad David suggests that the וְתוֹלָלֵינוּ should be understood as a derivative of the root הלל, meaning to mock, and thus be read as ותהוללינו, and those who mocked us (cf. Psalm 5:6, Psalm 102:9). In a far stretch Rashi and Radak both believe that a תולל is a particular kind of musical instrument related to the כנור. The usage in this regard derives the root as תלה, meaning to hang, and thus creates assonance with the earlier usage of the word: תָּלִינוּ, we hung.
––Josh Franklin
––Josh Franklin
The Masoretic text reads: תשכח ימיני, let my right hand forget. This appears to be an incomplete thought. We would expect that there would be a modified object that the hand would forget. Ibn Ezra and Radak fill in that the right hand would forget its skill to play the lyre. Similarly Metzudat David adds "May it forget its strength and its motion." In the same vein, KJV and NIV render the text with the direct objects "her cunning" and "its skill." The Targum, it seems to me, lends the most pertinent reading of the text, and likely preserves the original intent of it by translating the verse: תְכָחֵש יְמִינִי, may my right hand wither. Numerous translations including NJB, NRS, TNK, and Robert Alter pick up on this alternate understanding. I chose to translate the text in line with the insight from the Targum.
––Josh Franklin
––Josh Franklin