Hatikvah

"**Hatikvah**" (, , meaning "The Hope") is a Jewish folk song used as the national anthem of Israel. The words of the song are based on a nine-stanza poem written by poet Naftali Herz Imber in 1877. About a decade later, his words were put to music by composer Shmuel Cohen. The modern national anthem consists of the first two stanzas (verses) of Imber's poem.

## Background

The song tells the story of the Jews' two-thousand-year-old hope of returning to their homeland of Israel. The words of the song are based on a nine-stanza poem called "**Tikvatenu**" (,  , meaning "Our Hope"), which was written by Imber himself. "Hatikvah" uses only the first stanza and the refrain of Imber's poem. The last line of the refrain was changed, and the words were put to music. The music is from a very old and popular folk song that Samuel Cohen, a Jew born in Spain, found himself humming one day. It is played in a minor key. The words to the song are about the Jews' hope that one day their sadness will be turned into joy.

## Lyrics

<div style="overflow-x:auto;">
|Hebrew lyrics|Arabic lyrics|Romanization of Hebrew|Pronunciation|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|<poem dir=rtl>כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה, וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח קָדִימָה, עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה; עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ, הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם, לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ, אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם.</poem>|<poem>كُل عُود بَلِبب فنِيمَا نِفِش يهُودِي هُومِيَا ولفَأَتِي مِزرَخ قَدِيمَا عَيِن لصِيُون صُوفِيَا عُود لُا اَبدَة تِقوَتِنُو هَتِقوَة بَت شنُوت أَلفَيِم لِهيُوت عَم خُوفشِي بِأَرصِنُو إِرِص صِيُون ويِرُوشَلَيِم</poem>|<poem>Kol od balevav penimah, Nefesh Yehudi homiyah, Ulfaate mizrakh, kadimah, Ayin leTziyon tzofiyah. Od lo avdah tikvatenu Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim, Lihyot am khofshi beartzenu, Eretz Tziyon v'Yerushalayim.</poem>|<poem>[kol od baˈle.vav pe.niˈma ] [ˈne.feʃ jeˈhu.di ho.miˈja ‖] [ul.faˈʔa.te ˈmiz.ʁaχ ka.diˈma ] [aˈjin leˈt͡si.jon t͡so.fiˈja ‖] [od lo avˈda tik.vaˈte.nu ] [ha.tikˈva bat ʃnot alˈpa.jim ‖] /ˈlih.jot am ˈχof.ʃi be.ʔaʁˈt͡se.nu ] /ˈe.ʁet͡s ˈt͡si.jon vi.ʁu.ʃaˈla.jim ‖]</poem>|

### English translations

|Literal translation|Poetic translation|
| --- | --- |
|<poem>As long as in the heart, within, The soul of a Jew still yearns, And onward, towards the ends of the east, an eye still gazes toward Zion; Our hope is not yet lost, The hope of two thousand years, To be a free nation in our land, The land of Zion and Jerusalem.</poem>|<poem>O while within a Jewish breast, Beats true a Jewish heart, And Jewish glances turning East, To Zion fondly dart; O then our Hope—it is not dead, Our ancient Hope and true, To be a nation free forevermore Zion and Jerusalem at our core.</poem>|

## Other websites

- Hatikvah performed by Xander Greene
- Hatikvah on guitar
- Hatikva by Enrico Macias
- MIDI versions

## Infobox (anthem)

- **english title**: "The Hope"
- **image**: Cigarette silk depicting Zionist flag (3560854953).jpg
- **caption**: Words of the song below an Flag of Israel, Israeli flag.
- **prefix**: National
- **author**: Naftali Herz Imber
- **lyrics date**: 1877
- **composer**: Shmuel Cohen
- **adopted**: 1948
2004 <small>(officially adopted by law)</small>
- **sound**: Hatikvah instrumental.ogg
- **sound title**: The national anthem played by the United States Navy Band