There are few songs that conjure up more emotion than the Israeli national anthem. What is it about that song? There are various aspects, but there is one thing that makes it more powerful than nearly any other song – yearning. The yearning to one day be able to live in our Homeland. The yearning to be free from the shackles of those who have done so much to make the lives of the Jewish people so challenging and impossible.
Perhaps the words, ” the hope of 2,000 years,” are the most powerful of all as they encapsulate so much of Jewish history with the simple statement of 2,000 years of yearning. But when seeing Israeli soldiers sing the anthem, who in there very uniforms and willingness to sacrifice to defend the nation are the human embodiment of the prophecies that have come true in our lifetime, it is hard to not be truly overwhelmed by emotion.
The anthem precedes the State of Israel by several decades. It was being sung by Jews in Europe during the Holocaust and was sang by Jews who were stopped by the British while embarking on the dangerous journey to the Land of Israel. And to this very day, it is sung by Jews all over the world in order to keep the dream alive of returning to the Land of Israel and fulfilling the prophecies of our forefathers.