48', , Friday, March 3, 1918

THE DETROIT: JEWISH NEWS

THE HEBREW CREATIVITY OF NAFTALI HERZ EMBER

In the context of the recent centenary
of "Hatikvah" it is one of . the oddities
of the history of Hebrew letters that
Naftali HeFz Imber, author of "Hatik-
vah," was never recognized as a substan-
tial major Hebrew poet and publicist.
Born 1856 in Zlochow, Galicia, he was
somewhat of a child prodigy in Hebrew.
At ten years of age he composed a patri-
otic song in Hebrew: the occasion was
the war between Prussia and Austria.
And when the 100th anniversary of the
annexation of the Bukovina by Austria
took place, Imber wrote a hymn in praise
of Emperor Franz Joseph, also in He-
brew, a tribute for which the Emperor
Franz Joseph gave him a special medal.

In his younger years Imber travelled
a great deal, never being able to settle
in one place for any length of time. His
wanderings took him to Rumania, Po2
land and other areas of Eastern Europe.
...Itiose were the days of the –Chovevei
Zion," the forerunners of modern poli-
tical Zionism and of "Bilu," the early
Jewish colonigts in Palestine. 'In the year
1878 the colony "Petach Tikvah" - was
founded, and it -was at that time that Im-
ber wrote the verses which became the
song of the Chovevet Zion and of the
early settlers, although what Imber had
in mind then was the hope of . the Jews
in the 'Diaspora to return to Eretz Yis-
rael-:-not • a song of the settlers therri
selves. -

Imber's most productive years as a
'Hebrew writer began during the years
of 1g82-87 when he lived in Eretz Yis-
rael, Working 'and travelling as a secre-
tary to Laurence Oliphant, that early
Christian "Zionist." Most of Imber's He-
brew poems were creased in that period.
Somewhat of a visionary, he called on
European Jewry to save itself, while
there was still time, before a violent out-
break of hate-that would certainly occur.
`And European Jewry couldave itself
only by settling in the United States
where he remained•to the end of-his life.
His relatively short stay in London
brought him in contact with Israel Zang-
will. He taught Hebrew to Zangwill and
Zangwill taught English to Imber, trans-
lating some of. his poems, including "Ha-
tikvah." It is said that Imber learned
English within three months, to the ex-
tent that he was able to publish in the
new tongue.

4

•
In AmeriCa Imber was an abtive
„Heist in Hebrew, yiddish and English,.
but he could never lift himself from,,an
existence - which—whether• in *Bo§ton or-
New York--Lwas for the most part desti-
tute. He died a poor - man in New York
in 1909. Here and there, some recogni-
tion came 'to Imber, the skeptic, who
tended to find 'solace in alcohol as the
years went by.
The Department of Education in
Washington acknowledged 'Imber's tal-
ent, helped finance some of his writings'
on topics of Jewish education and be-
stowed even on him the title of profes-
sor. WOrk§ such as•"Music of the Ghetto"
and "Education of the Talmud" were
widely read and his Hebrew . styte found
a number of eager imitators. Imber'scol-
leCtion of poems was titled "Barkai," an
expfession found in the Talmud. Ac-
cording to tradition, "Barkai" 'was the
word called out by the scouts who
cwered the new moon for'•theitfirSt time
each month from the top of the moun-
tains where they were stationed:in order
to help determine the Hebrew calendar.
"Barkai" also means the dawn of the
morning, or morning star—a fitting ex-
pression of .the hopes of the early Zionist
movement and of the regeneration of
Hebrew as a spoken language.
Next to "Hatikva,".Imber's most pop-
ular • song was "Mishmar Hayarden"—
le "Watch Over The Jordan"—and the
'name of an early colony. But this un-
official song of the first chalutzim was
soon replaced by Bialik's "Techezaknah,"
destined to become the hymn of the
workers of Eretz Yisrael.
"Hatikvah" itself had originally six
stanzas, according to some -sources even
nine. The first five begin with the words
"Kol od," "as long as," or "not yet."
Many have seen here the influence of
the old Polish national hymn "Not is
Poland Lost Yet." The last stanza of
"Hatikvah" probably contains a refer-
ence to one of the contemporary Zionist
leaders; starting with the words "Shim'u
Achai," "Listen, My Brothers, in the
lands of my wandering, listen to the voice
of one of our seers . . ." -
One could say that poetically and styl-
istically, the Hebrew of "Hatikvah" is
not as powerful or profound as Bialik's
"Techezaknah." But Imber's simple
words became popular, gaining the hearts
of Zionists all over the world. Imber's
entire collection of Hebrew poems was

one great paean to the rehuildang of Zion.
His influenCec on his_contemporaries was
, 4gnificant," but today little _has been left
of his -literary heritage outside of "Ha-
tikvah" itself: Most fittingly indeed "Ha-
tikvah" was played at Imber's funeral in
New York: He died in 1909.

When the State of Israel was founded,
there was no question but that "Hatik-
vah" would be the national anthem, al-
though no official declaration by the
government was ever issued and of
course it was solemnly and passionately
intoned at the Declaration of Israel's In-
dependence. Since that time, and even
before, it was being played in Jewish
communities all over the world. Natur-
ally, its strains resound on every occa-
sion of State, in Israel as well as abroad.
whenever a high dignitary of -a for-
eign power is received, or when Israel's
Ambassadors present ..their credentials,
That sometimes the ironies of history
should manifest themselves strikingly at
such junctions, is noteworthy, Let's just
remember that only a few weeks ago the
world" could but smile when the mighty
chords of "Hatikvah" wire struck up in
honor of President Sad'at.

"From
Haifa
to
Near
Faraway Cairo"

Fate has played strangely, harshly ;
blessedly and fascinatingly with Ada
Aharoni. She was born in Cairo and
educated there; formed close bonds of
friendship with Arab playmates of her
childhood and classmates of her later
years; was expelled from the country
with her family, as were tens of thou-
sands of Jews, long ? rooted in Egypt; fled
to France with her dear ones, but de-
cided 'to leave them and to settle in Is-
rael; fell in love with her new homeland
and with one of its sons, established a
family and, on the side, quite a reputa-
tion as an Israeli -poetess who masters
English and Hebrew with equal felicity;
and who repeatedly and only recently
again has toured America's academia as
a lyrical ambassadress of Arab-Israeli
understanding. Ada Aharoni is an aca-
demician in her own right. She teaches
at the University of Haifa, after having
won her Ph.D.. with a dissertation on
"The Development of Saul Bellow's Art."
Mrs. Aharoni has kept in touch some-
how for quite some time with an Egyp-
tian girl friend of her youth and has
given moving expression to this relation-
ship in a poem "From, Haifa to Near
Faraway Cairo." She feels that "as an
emotional medium, poetry is particularly

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NEWSPAPER HEBREW

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editor
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foreign news
local news
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advertisement
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The establishment of the State of Is-
rael made it necessary to change the text
somewhat—not.so much for the Jews.-in
the Diaspora, as . for those who had re-
turned to Eretz Yisrael and. were now
the proud citizens of the Jewish State.

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suited to the question of peace." Other
poems from her pen such as "Yom Kip-
pur War," "To a Captain in Sinai," and
"To an Egyptian Soldier" are indeed
sublime and eloquent testimony to such
conviction, so intensely lived and pur-
sued and so creatively transmitted to
poignant verse.
Interestingly enough Ada Aharoni sent
the aforementioned poem, leading off a
new book of hers, ,"through channels"
President Sadat in March 1977. •And
perhaps her lines prompted him to say
in November 1977, in his address to the
Knesset: "let's make the poem a reality!"
The poem follows;

FROM HAIFA TO NEAR
FARAWAY CAIRO

I RECALL the velvet sugar-cane juice
we drank -together
with the smooth blue air
under the open skies,
the sunflower seeds
we cracked together
with jokes
echoing laughter in the sun
How sweet the roasted sweet potatoes
were in those rainbow days
of pretty sugar dolls.

But unlike you dear Kadreya,
Friend of my sunny schooldays,
I was told I was just
a visiting guest—
. -
though born in the land of the Nile.
Ordered by Egypt my Jewish wings
to spread
to search for a new nest,
I have found-it on Mount Carmel
and here I mean to stay.

My foremost wish today
is our soldier sons
to bathe
in the peaceful rays
their mothers wove
when younger then they,
in the near faraway rainbow days.

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FOR THE ADVANCEMENT 'OF HEBREW_ CULTURE

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