Hebrew Caligraphy
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers many courses in Hebrew that support our Hebrew and Jewish Studies major and minor programs.
The following poems were submitted by members of our community participating in the NELC Poetry Project. We hope you will consider participating in the NELC Poetry Project!
Psalm 122 (Chosen and translated by Hebrew Major, David “Chet” Patterson)
Psalm 122 (translation by David Patterson)
A song of ascents, of David: I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘let us go to the house of the Lord.’ Our feet were standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built like a city that was knit together. There the tribes went up, the tribes of Yah (God). A decree for Israel to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For there dwell the seats of judgement, the seats of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! Those who love you will be at ease. There will be peace in your walls, security in your fortresses. For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will speak peace within you. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek good for you.
I chose this poem because I recently analyzed it for a course I’m taking, and I really enjoyed the creative phonological poetic structure. The repetition of the Shin (ש) and Lamed (ל) throughout the poem brings to mind the name of the city Jerus(ש)l(ל)em, the main theme of the psalm. – David Patterson
Jerusalem of Gold by Naomi Shemer (Chosen by undergraduate student Ethan Geis)
ירושלים של זהב
אויר הרים צלול כיין
וריח אורנים
נישא ברוח הערביים
עם קול פעמונים.
ובתרדמת אילן ואבן
שבויה בחלומה
העיר אשר בדד יושבת
ובליבה חומה
ירושלים של זהב
ושל נחושת ושל אור
הלא לכל שירייך
אני כינור
ירושלים של זהב
ושל נחושת ושל אור
הלא לכל שירייך
אני כינור
איכה יבשו בורות המים
כיכר השוק ריקה
ואין פוקד את הר הבית
בעיר העתיקה.
ובמערות אשר בסלע
מייללות רוחות
ואין יורד אל ים המלח
בדרך יריחו.
ירושלים של זהב…
אך בבואי היום לשיר לך
ולך לקשור כתרים
קטונתי מצעיר בנייך
ומאחרון המשוררים.
כי שמך צורב את השפתיים
כנשיקת שרף
אם אשכחך ירושלים
אשר כולה זהב
ירושלים של זהב…
חזרנו אל בורות המים
לשוק ולכיכר
שופר קורא בהר הבית
בעיר העתיקה.
ובמערות אשר בסלע
אלפי שמשות זורחות
נשוב נרד אל ים המלח
בדרך יריחו.
ירושלים של זהב…
Jerusalem of Gold by Naomi Shemer
Mountain air as clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Carried on the evening wind
With the sound of bells
In the slumber of tree and stone
Captive in her dream
Is the city that sits alone
And at her heart a wall
Jerusalem of gold
And of copper and of light
For all of your songs
I am a violin
Jerusalem of gold
And of copper and of light
For all of your songs
I am a violin
How has the water of the well dried
And the market square is empty
And no visitor comes to the temple mount
In the ancient city
And in the caverns in the stone
Wailing winds
And none descend to the Dead Sea
By the way of Jericho
Jerusalem of gold…
Yet as I come today to sing to you
And to weave you garlands
I am smaller than your youngest child
And the last of the poets
For your name burns my lips
Like the kiss of a Seraph (angel)
If I forget you, Jerusalem
Made all of gold
Jerusalem of Gold…
We have returned to the wells of water
To the market square
The shofar sounds from the temple mount
In the ancient city
And in the caverns in the stone
Thousands of suns shine
We’ll again descend to the Dead Sea
By the way of Jericho
Jerusalem of gold…
A Door by Idit Barak (Chosen by NELC Hebrew Language Coordinator, Galit Golan)
דלת/ עידית ברק
אָדָם זָקוּק לְפָחוֹת לְדֶלֶת אַחַת
לִפְתֹּחַ אֶת מָה שֶׁסָּגַר
לְהִכָּנֵס כְּדֵי לְגַלּוֹת
לָצֵאת בִּשְׁבִיל לְחַפֵּשׂ
לִסְגֹּר עַל מְנַת לְהָנִיחַ
אָדָם זָקוּק לְדֶלֶת אַחַת
לִתְלוֹת עָלֶיהָ שֶׁלֶט
לִקְרֹא לָהּ בְּשֵׁם
אָדָם זָקוּק לְדֶלֶת
כְּדֵי שֶׁיּוּכַל לִנְקֹשׁ עָלֶיהָ בְּיָד רַכָּה
לִשְׁמֹעַ מִישֶׁהוּ בְּצִדָּהּ הַשֵּׁנִי
עוֹנֶה לוֹ: יָבוֹא
A Door by Idit Barak
A human being needs at least one door
To open what he has closed
To enter in order to discover
To exit in order to search
To close in order to let go
A human being needs one door
To hang a sign upon
And call its by name
A human being needs a door
That he may knock on with a soft hand
To hear someone on the other side of it
Call out: Come in!
“I choose this song because it is so personal, but can also be true to each one of us. Idit Barak, the poet, has a unique way to expose her soul, and at the same time to touch the souls of others, and say out loud what they couldn’t phrase themselves.” – Galit Golan