Hava Nedeber Ivrit: Hannah Szenes

By NIRA LEV

Of all the numerous giborim
whose chayim and ma'asim fill the
pages of our history, Hannah Szenes
has left the strongest roshem on
me and on most Yisraelim of the
dor following the Shoah. She is
known and admired by yeladim and
mevugarim alike and in every eer
in Israel you will find streets al
sh'ma. Although she was only
twenty-three years old when she
died, Hannah has become a semel
of g'vurah, mesirut-nefesh and
hakravah.
Hannah, the daughter of the
famous sofer Bela Szenes, nolda in
Budapest in 1921. Be'gil tza'eer
Hannah revealed a remarkable
kisharon sifruti and at 13 she
began to write a yoman which she
kept up until she died.
Although her mishpacha was a
mishpacha mitbollelet, she
became an ardent Zionist and in
1939 decided la'alot la'aretz.
Hannah began her limudim at Beit
Ha'sefer Ha'chakla'ee at Nahalal
and later became a chavera of
kibbutz S'dot Yam, at yad Caesaria.
Milchemet Ha'olam Ha'shniya
broke out. At the end of 1942, when
the Yishuv in Palestina learned
about the goral of their achim and
achayot in Europe, Hannah could
not go on with her chayim and
avodah doing nothing.
She joined a group of
tzanchanim mitnadvim organized
by the Hagana to go to Europe in a
nisayon to rescue Jews and
organize Jewish resistance. The
tzanchanim knew how dangerous
their tafkid was, but they went
anyway.
Hannah tzancha over
Yugoslavia in March, 1944. She
stayed among Tito's partisans
(where she wrote her famous shir:
"Ashrei Ha'gafrur"). On June 7, at
the peak of the deportation of
Hungarian Jewry, Hannah crossed
the g'vul into Hungary, where
chayalim Hungarim arrested her.
. Hannah was taken to a beit-
sohar in Budapest where she was
tortured by the Germans who
wanted information about the code
sodi of her radio and about her
chaverim. Hannah lo gilta davar.
Her worst nisayon was when
they brought in her em, who
thought her bat, Hannah, was safe
in Yisrael and was to find her in
beit ha'sohar in Budapest. Hannah
apologized to her mother saying: "I
had to do it." Hannah lo gilta davar
even after the Germans used the
iyyum that they would torture her
beloved mother.
When she was brought to
"beit-ha'mishpat", she was told

that she was nidona le'mavet, and
was asked by the kategor whether
she wanted to ask for a chanina,
but she refused.
On the 7th of November, 1944,
a firing squad executed Hannah in
the courtyard of beit-ha'sohar.
Hannah, who refused to be
blindfolded and looked her
executioners straight in the eyes,
became on that day one of our
most inspiring, admired giborot.
Her aron was brought to Yisrael in
1950 and she was interred on Har
Herzl.
Her shir "Ashrei Ha'gafrur"
"Blessed is The Match"), that is
known to every Israeli, sums up her
short life as well as the life of all
giborim who sacrifice themselves
for their sacred cause. Hannah was
like the gafrur that was consumed
by the lehavot it created, thus
inspiring others to go on. She lives
on in her yoman, her shirim, and
the s'farim written about her.

Meelon (Dictionary)

gibor
giborim
chayim
ma'asim
roshem
Yisraelim
dor
The Shoah
yeladim

hero
heroes
life
deeds
impression
Israelis
generation
The Holocaust
children

Ha'gafur She'hitzit Lehavot

adults
mevugarim
city
eer
at sh'mah
(named) after her
a symbol
semel
heroism
g'vurah
mesirut-nefesh . dedication, devotion
sacrifice
hakravah
writer
sofer
was born
nolda
be'gil taz'eer
at a young age
a talent
kisharon
literary
sifruti
a diary
yoman
family
mishpach
assimilating
mitbollel
mitbollelet ...assimilating (feminine)
la'alot la'aretz .to immigrate to Israel
limudim studies
beit-sefer chakla'ee .. an agricultural
school
member
chavera
near
al yad
Milchemet Ha'olam Ha'shniya ..The
Second World War
Yishuv ...The Jewish community in
Palestine before the establishment
of the State of Israel
fate, destiny
goral
brothers
achim
sisters
achayot
work
avodah
parachutists,
tzanchanim
paratroopers
volunteers
mitnadvim
"The Defense" -
The Hagana
The Jewish organization
for self defense at the
time of the British Mandate.
attempt, experience
nisayon
task
tafkid

(she) jumped from an
airplane
shir
poem
Blessed is
Ashrei Ha'gafrur
the Match
g'vul
border
chayalim Hungarim
Hungarian
soldiers
prison
beit sohar
a secret code
code sodi
radio
adio
friends
chaverim
lo gilta davar
she did not reveal
anything
trial
nisayon
mother
em
a daughter
bat
threat
iyyum
the court
beit ha'mishpat
nidona le'mavet
sentenced to
death
kategor
prosecutor
a pardon
chanina
heroines
giborot
a coffin, a closet
aron
Har Herzl
Mt. Herzl
shirim
poems, songs
a match
gafrur
flames
lehavot
s'farim
books
Ha'gafrur she'hitzit lehavot The
match that
ignited flames

tzancha

Nira Lev is director of Hebrew
Learning Center, Agency for Jewish
Education: Director of Hebrew
Department, Community Jewish
High School; Associate Professor,
Midrasha College of Jewish Studies.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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