Should You Wish To Know The Source

Hayyim Nahman Bialik 1873 (Ivnitsa, Volhynian Governorate) – 1934 (Vienna)



Should you wish to know the Source,
From which your brothers drew…
Their strength of soul…
Their comfort, courage, patience, trust,
And iron might to bear their hardships
And suffer without end or measure?

And should you wish to see the Fort
Wherein your fathers refuge sought.
And all their sacred teasures hid,
The refuge that has still preserved
Your nation's soul intact and pure
And when despised, and scorned, and scoffed,
Their faith they did not shame?

And should you wish to see and know
Their Mother, faithful, loving, kind
Who…sheltered them and shielded them.
And lulled them on her lap to sleep?

If you, my brother, know not
Then enter now the House of God,
The House of study, old and gray,
Throughout the scorching summer days
Thoughout the gloomy winter nights,
At morning midday or at eve…
And there you may still behold,
A group of Jews from the exile who bore the yoke of its burden who forget their toil,
through a worn out page of the Talmud.

And then your heart shall guess the truth,
That you have touched the sacred ground
Of a great people's house of life.
And that your eys do gaze upon
The treasure of a nation's soul.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

1:03 min read
134

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXAXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXX XXXXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,131
Words 209
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 7, 4, 9, 5

Hayyim Nahman Bialik

Hayim Nahman Bialik (Hebrew: חיים נחמן ביאליק), also Chaim or Haim, was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also in Yiddish. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice to the breath of new life in Jewish life. Although he died before Israel became a state, Bialik ultimately came to be recognized as Israel's national poet. more…

All Hayyim Nahman Bialik poems | Hayyim Nahman Bialik Books

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1 Comment
  • Leonard H Goldberg
    Leonard H Goldberg
    The newer generations should read their heritage. Here is a good place to continue
    LikeReply6 years ago

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