A Walk to Caesarea
"A Walk to Caesarea" (Hebrew: הליכה לקיסריה, Halika LeKaysarya), also commonly known by the opening words Eli, Eli (Hebrew: אֵלִי, אֵלִי, "My God, My God") in the song version, is a poem in Hebrew written in 1942 by Hungarian Jewish WWII resistance fighter Hannah Szenes,[1] which Israeli composer David Zehavi set to music in 1945.[2] Szenes wrote the poem while residing in kibbutz Sdot Yam which is located a short distance along the Mediterranean coast from the ancient port town of Caesarea.
by Hannah Szenes | |
Original title | הליכה לקיסריה |
---|---|
Written | 1942 |
Language | Hebrew |
The song is considered one of Israel's unofficial anthems,[2] and is the most-commonly played song on Yom HaShoah (the Holocaust Memorial Day) in Israel.[3]
The following is an English translation of the song version:
My God, my God,
may it never end –
the sand and the sea,
the rustle of the water,
the brilliance of the sky,
the prayer of man.
References
- "My God, May This Wonder Never End - Poem of The Week". Haaretz. 24 February 2015.
- "Fire In My Heart: About the Exhibition". Museum of Jewish Heritage. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
- The most played song on Yom HaShoah