Messiah Studies

The Messiah of Israel

Home » Jewish Music » HaTikvah

HaTikvah

The National Anthem of Israel

(Israel)

"The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your seed." Genesis 17:7-8

I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land." Ezekiel 37:21

In May, 1948, "The Hope" was realized, and the modern State of Israel was born. The Israeli National Anthem is called "HaTikva," which means, "The Hope." According to StateOfIsrael.com, the words were written in 1886 by Naphtali Herz Imber, an English poet originally from Bohemia. The melody was written by Samuel Cohen, an immigrant from Moldavia. Cohen actually based the melody on a musical theme found in Bedrich Smetana’s "Moldau."

The following Hebrew text, tranliteration, and translation are taken from the article "HaTikvah" at Wikipedia.com.

Hebrew	Transliteration	English translation
כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה	Kol ‘od balleivav penimah	As long as in the heart, within,
נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה,	Nefesh yehudi homiyah,	A Jewish soul still yearns,
וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה,	Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah,	And onward, towards the ends of the east,
עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה;	‘Ayin letziyon tzofiyah;	An eye still gazes toward Zion;

עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ,	‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu,	Our hope is not yet lost,
הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם,	Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim,	The hope of two thousand years,
לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ,	Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzeinu,	To be a free people in our land,
אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.	Eretz-tziyon (v)'Y(e)rushalayim.	The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Watch this inspiring video as you listen to the words of the anthem. Click the screen or the triangle at the bottom left to start Hatikva.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.