Yerushalayim Shel Zahav

Naomi Shemer describing the writing of Yerushalayim Shel Zahav:

"In the winter of '67 I was approached by Gil Aldema of The Voice of Israel. Teddy Kollek (the mayor at the time) had asked him to commission a song about Jerusalem. For many years, the Voice of Israel held a song competition on Independence Day, until then broadcast on the radio only (because we only got television in 1968). That same year, 1967, they elected, on a one-time basis to also commission songs from five professional composers, I among them. I found it very difficult to write the song, until I recalled the legend about Rabbi Akiva promising his wife Rachel a "city of gold," i.e. a piece of gold jewelry depicting Jerusalem. I chose Shuli Nathan to perform the song. She was a 20-year old soldier-teacher, with a guitar and a voice like bells. The song was a hit from the very first performance and, at midnight, when Shuli was asked to return to the stage, the audience was already singing along on the chorus... "

What sources inspired Naomi Shemer's song?

Understanding the First Verse

• What senses are mentioned in the first paragraph?
• What feeling toward Jerusalem do you get from the first paragraph?
• Write three adjectives describing Jerusalem from your reading of the first paragraph?

• What is the book of Eicha (Lamentations)? Which historical events does it describe?
• Which emotions does the book of Eicha evoke?
• When Naomi Shemer wrote the song, who was in control of the Old City of Jerusalem?
• How many years had passed since Jerusalem had last been under Jewish control?
• What sentence, in the first verse of Naomi Shemer’s song, refers to the book of Eicha?
• How does the word “בודדה/solitary” describe the Old City at the time that the song was written?

Understanding the Chorus

First Reading

Read the words of the chorus and answer the questions.

See below for the additional sources referred to in the questions.

• What colours are used to describe Jerusalem?
• How would you explain the meaning of the word “light” here?
• According to the prayer, where does light originate?
• In the Rabbi Akiva story, a “Jerusalem of Gold” is a crown in the shape of the walls of Jerusalem. What does it represent?
• Why do you think Naomi Shemer chose the Jerusalem of Gold image for the name of her song?
• Who was Yehuda Halevi?
• What do you think it means to be a “harp for all of your songs”?

Source 3

Understanding the Second Verse

Read the words of the second verse and answer the questions below.

See below for the additional sources referred to in the questions.

• After reading the second verse, what three adjectives would you choose to describe Jerusalem?
• From which biblical text does Naomi Shemer get the inspiration for her expression of the sadness and desolation of the city while under Jordanian control?
• Eicha is the Hebrew name for the book of Lamentations. How else is it translated in Naomi Shemer’s song?
• Do you think "Eicha" is a good name for the book that describes the destruction of the Temple?
• How does Isaiah use the word Eicha?
• Naomi Shemer also used a part of the first verse of Lamentations in the first verse of the song. Why do you think that she referenced this verse so often?

Understanding the Third Verse

Read the words of the third verse and answer the questions below.

See below for the additional sources referred to in the questions.

• According to Naomi Shemer, what is the role of the poet or songwriter?
• What are the crowns that the Talmud (Menachot) is referring to?
• According to the midrash, who wrote the crowns?
• Who was the person who made meaning of the crowns on the letters?
• How does Naomi Shemer use the image of the crowns on the letters in her song?
• Who was the youngest who was chosen to be king described in the book of 1 Samuel?
• Why do you think Naomi Shemer described the poet as the “smallest of the youngest of your children”?
• Why might a songwriter, writing a song about Jerusalem, choose to reference King David?
• What does the Psalm say about the place that Jerusalem should take in our thoughts and hearts?

In his article about Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Ofir Ben Yair asks the question: why does Rabbi
Akiva feature so prominently in Naomi Shemer’s song?

See below for the midrash that Ben Yair refers to in his answer and answer the following
questions.

• Summarise the midrash in your own words.
• What do we learn about Rabbi Akiva from the midrash?
• What was his attitude toward Jerusalem?
• How were his feelings different from those of the other rabbis mentioned in the story?
• Do you think that he is the right person to be associated with a song about Jerusalem?
• What other historical figure might Naomi Shemer have used to present the Jewish people’s love for Jerusalem?

Understanding the Fourth Verse

The last verse of the song was added after the Six-Day War. Naomi Shemer explained:
“At that point [when the song was first performed ] we were moving toward war, and three
weeks later, when the paratroopers liberated the Western Wall, they had an anthem at the
ready. On that day, June 7, 1967, I added a fourth verse to the song in honour of the victory.”

This photograph shows Naomi Shemer’s first draft of the
fourth verse.

Jerusalem of Gold (Yerushalayim Shel Zahav), 1967 from the collection of the National Library of Israel

• Where was the draft written?
• What can you learn about circumstances of the writing of the verse from looking at where it was written?
• What can you learn about Shemer’s writing process from looking at her handwriting?

Read the fourth verse and answer the questions with reference to the pictures
below.

• Which of the previous three verses does the fourth verse relate to?
• How does the mood change from the first verse to the fourth verse?
• What is the connection between the sign in Photograph 1 and the fourth verse?
• Look at the photographs that were taken days after the Six-Day War. What do they tell you about the atmosphere in Israel at that time?
• The song “Yerushalayim shel Zahav” was written a short time before the Six-Day War and became popular immediately.
  
• How do you think it was received after the Six-Day War?
• Ofir Ben Yair claims that the song straddles the definition of a modern Israeli song and a prayer. Which do you think it is? Can it be seen as both? Explain your answer.

Photograph 1 – The Border in Jerusalem

מלחמת ששת הימים 1967

From the Dan Hadani archive of the National Library of Israel

Rabbi Shlomo Goren

After the capture of the Old City, IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren blew the shofar at the Kotel.

• Where is this event referenced in Naomi Shemer’s song?

In the days immediately following the Six-Day War, the photographer Dan Hadani took moving photographs of the changes that were taking place in Jerusalem. Thousands of Israelis came to Jerusalem to visit the Kotel and parts of the city that had been previously denied to them. The city of Jerusalem prepared for the large numbers of visitors by expanding the plaza in front of the Kotel.

Photograph 2 – The Kotel (Western Wall) in 1918

From the video, "100 Years in the Western Wall", from the National Library of Israel

Photograph 3, 4 – Expanding the Plaza, 1967

מלחמת ששת הימים 1967

From the Dan Hadani archive of the National Library of Israel

The First Days After the 6-Day War

From the Dan Hadani archive of the National Library of Israel

Photograph 5 – Returning to the Kotel

Israelis from all backgrounds came to Jerusalem to pray at the Kotel.

The First Days After the 6-Day War from the Dan Hadani archive of the National Library of Israel

Creative Activities

• Learn the song, “Yerushalayim shel Zahav.”
• Create a presentation of photographs to accompany the song. Recommended websites: Canva, Emaze, Prezi.
• Write a blog post explaining the textual roots of “Yerushalayim shel Zahav.”
• Interview someone who remembers the Six-Day War.

Ask them how they felt when they heard that Jerusalem had been reunified.
Ask them what they feel now and felt then about the song.