wkp@lanl.ARPA (05/19/85)
The following is from a Hebrew love poem by the eleventh century
Jewish scholar Yehuda HaLevy. It is a classic example of the beauty
and diversity of Jewish poetry:
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Cheeks like a glowing fire upon a marble floor,
Around them perfumed hair like woven silk
Close by me they cause a fire in my heart
When she pities once, she betrays six times.
--Yehuda HaLevy
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To fully appreciate this verse, it will be necessary to read the Hebrew:
Lehi k'ritzpat esh b'ritzpat shesh,
Nirkam svivav k'rikmat shesh,
Yosef b'libi esh b'korvo li
Ki yahmol paam v'yivgod shesh.
Note the incredible play on words with "ritzpah" and "shesh". In addition,
there are subtle references in this love poem to the Tanach. For instance,
"ritzpat shesh" is in Esther, "rikmat shesh" is from Yehezkel (Ezekial).
In fact, the word "shesh" is used THREE different times in this poem in
THREE different ways.
Reciting such a poem is sheer joy to the senses. Note that Hebrew poetry
needs strict Sfardic pronounciation. More than that, the characteristic
meter of the poetry has a fixed sequence of shva na and hataf vowels.
A good example of this fixed meter is in the sidur prayer "Adon Olam".
More recently, however, the fixed meter in Hebrew poetry now usually
approximates the European iambus style. Consider the modern poem
of Hanah Senesh:
Eli, Eli, she'lo y'gamer l'olam
HaChol v'haYam
Rishrush shel haMayim
Barak ha'shamayim
Tfilat ha'adam.
which translates as:
May these never end, my G-d:
The sand and the sea
The rush of the waves
The thunder in the heavens
The prayer of Man.
Many examples of Hebrew poetry and literature are abundant in the works
of Jews who lived during the Golden Age in Spain. Poems about love
for G-d, love for Zion, personal desolation, wine songs, and erotica
abound in this living and rich literature.
Many other poets beside Yehuda HaLevy are excellent. Interested readers
should read the works of people such as Shmuel haNagid, Shlomo ibn Gabirol,
and Moshe ben Ezra. Even unknown poets such as Yitzhak ibn Khalfun are
wonderful.
When I have more time, I will post a critique on the unknown Hebrew poems
of the revolutionary Ze'ev Jabotinsky.
--
bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkpdavid@uwvax.UUCP (David Parter) (05/19/85)
> > The following is from a Hebrew love poem by the eleventh century > Jewish scholar Yehuda HaLevy. It is a classic example of the beauty > and diversity of Jewish poetry: > To fully appreciate this verse, it will be necessary to read the Hebrew: > > Lehi k'ritzpat esh b'ritzpat shesh, > Nirkam svivav k'rikmat shesh, > Yosef b'libi esh b'korvo li > Ki yahmol paam v'yivgod shesh. it would be more fun to REALLY read it in HEBREW, but i guess we can't do that yet with our current technical limitations. (Yes there are hebrew-speaking terminals, but i don't think there is a real standard yet... especially not for mixed text). > Many examples of Hebrew poetry and literature are abundant in the works > of Jews who lived during the Golden Age in Spain. Poems about love > for G-d, love for Zion, personal desolation, wine songs, and erotica > abound in this living and rich literature. > > Many other poets beside Yehuda HaLevy are excellent. Interested readers > should read the works of people such as Shmuel haNagid, Shlomo ibn Gabirol, > and Moshe ben Ezra. Even unknown poets such as Yitzhak ibn Khalfun are > wonderful. > > When I have more time, I will post a critique on the unknown Hebrew poems > of the revolutionary Ze'ev Jabotinsky. what about the modern hebrew poets, (including the contemporary) such as Bialik, among others? One of the effects of the Zionist Revolution was the revival of hebrew as a modern language. The poetry and literature of the zionists deserve attention. > -- > bill peter ihnp4!lanl!wkp david -- david parter UWisc Systems Lab ...!{allegra,harvard,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!david david@wisc-rsch.arpa