Learning Hebrew through the Music of David Broza

The music I like best in any language is built around the rhythms of a guitar. I look for words and a melody that are understandable, literally and figuratively. Bruce Cockburn is an old favorite. I need only call a few words to mind, along with a melody - “All the diamonds in this world that mean anything to me” – and a whole world is evoked within me.

An Israeli artist that has the same effect on me, in a pop sort of way, is David Broza. Below the fold, I go through the lyrics, by Jonathan Geffen, of one of his most popular songs. If you're impatient, just go near the bottom to the translation I provide. You will be glad you did. The words describe a coping strategy of Israelis today, stuck as they are between war and peace.

The way to work with the lyrics is in conjunction with Broza’s guitar and melody. If you do so, the words will not leave you easily. Here is a brief clip to get you started. Written out and vocalized, the words of the clip are:

וְשָׁכַחְתִּי אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ

אֲבָל אֲנִי עוֹד כָּאן

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב

יִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי נִשְׁבָּר

אָז הַלַּיְלָה

הוֹ הַלַּיְלָה

And I’ve forgotten the way,

but I’m still here,

and good will come,

good will come, yeah,

sometimes I’m crushed,

and this night,

o this night . . .

 Geffen’s phrases often evoke biblical phrases. I’m not suggesting Geffen had, necessarily, the phrases in mind when he composed the song, but they nevertheless form part of the cultural background that allow the words to resonate in those who hear them. My proposal: get the words and music into your head. Let them mess with you. Then associate passages of song with passages of scripture. Like this:[1]

ושכחתי את הדרך

And I’ve forgotten the way

In ancient Hebrew epic narrative and song, ואשכח , the wayyiqtol, would have been used. But past narration by means of a string of weqatals is also biblical. A prime example: Qohelet 1:12-2:26. Geffen’s song, and much modern Hebrew, seamlessly mixes present tense narration expressed by means of participles and weqatal past tense narration. A distant analogy in ancient Hebrew: the mix of (we)hinneh + participle and wayyiqtol narration in dream accounts (for example, Genesis 41:17-24). It is helpful to read modern Hebrew with the goal of understanding how it differs from ancient Hebrew. The idiosyncrasies of the latter become clearer in light of those of the former.

In terms of content, Geffen’s words recall this passage:

 

עִמְדוּ עַל־דְּרָכִים וּרְאוּ

וְשַׁאֲלוּ לִנְתִבוֹת עוֹלָם

אֵי־זֶה דֶרֶךְ הַטּוֹב

 

וּלְכוּ־בָהּ

וּמִצְאוּ מַרְגּוֹעַ לְנַפְשְׁכֶם

Stand at the crossroads, look,

ask for the paths of yore,

where the good way is

 

and walk in it,

and find rest for your souls.

Jeremiah 6:16

 

According to Jeremiah, his generation failed to ask which way leads to the good. For that reason, they never found it. The haunting refrain of Geffen’s song, ויהיה טוב ‘and good will come,’ also emphasizes the good, the currently unavailable good. That’s what Israelis long for, the good which now eludes them.

אבל אני עוד כאן

ויהיה טוב

But I’m still here,

and good will come

אבל is an interesting conjunction. It is an asseverative, ‘verily,’ according to BDB, in earlier ancient Hebrew (Genesis, Samuel, Kings), and an adversative, ‘but,’ in later ancient Hebrew (Dan, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles). It is perhaps more accurate to say that in later usage it is asseverative and adversative at the same time, like doch in German. The phrase as a whole, in ancient Hebrew, would go like this:

וַאֲנִי עוֹדֶנִי פֹּה

Compare Genesis 44:14; 19:12. The unmitigated good the song expects, a dare in the face of an endless war, is reminiscent of promises like this one which pierced the darkness the people of Israel knew in another time:

אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי

הוּא מְנַחֶמְכֶם

 

מִי־אַתְּ וַתִּירְאִי

מֵאֱנוֹשׁ יָמוּת

 

וּמִבֶּן אָדָם

חָצִיר יִנָּתֵן

I am, yes I am

your comforter.

 

What’s with you that you fear

man who must die,

 

a human,

grass that will be consigned?

Isaiah 51:12

 

And good will come, says the song, because the generals will not decide matters forever. In a potent phrase for anyone who has read a bit of Talmud, the song looks forward to the day when:

עַל קְבָרִים יִפְרַח הָעֵשֶׂב

on graves grass will grow

 

This would be an idyllic scene. Grass growing on graves is better than the messianic pretensions of generals. The verse of the song from which the quoted line comes, all of which I reproduce below, is unfortunately not sung by Broza in the Napster version I possess. For a brief bio of Broza, by Richard Silverstein, go here.

The passage of the Talmud that comes to mind is found in a dialogue between Akiva and Yochanan ben Torta. They did not see eye to eye on the question of the Messiah (Akiva thought the promised son of David was Simon bar Kochba):

עֲקִיבָה

יַעֲלוּ עֲשָׂבִים בִּלְחָיַיִךְ

וַעֲדַיִין בֶּן דָּוִד לֹא יָבֹא

Akiva!

Grass will grow out of your jaws,

and the son of David will still not have come!

Talmud Yerushalmi Ta‛anit, 24,1

 

יהיה טוב כן

לפעמים אני נשבר

good will come, yeah,

sometimes I’m crushed

 

כן occurs often in the Bible, meaning ‘thus, then,’ not ‘yes.’ Post-positive asseverative expressions are unknown in ancient Hebrew; post-positive כן is also atypical in modern Hebrew. The closest thing in ancient Hebrew to ‘yes’ in the sense of כן here is הן as used in, for example, Gen 30:34; Job 33:12.[2]

פעמים, the plural of פעם, is used in ancient Hebrew in the same sense as in the song, but without an introductory ל. For example: פְּעָמִים רַבּוֹת יַצִּילֵם ‘he delivered them many times’ (Psalm 106:43 – note the use of the yiqtol in post-positive position to refer to past events). פעם, it transpires from this and other occurrences, is a feminine noun despite its masculine morphology.

The figurative use of Niphal שבר also goes back to the Bible. A comparison of three passages yields a number of semantic and grammatical insights: Jeremiah 17:18; 14:17; 8:21. Both the noun שבר and the verb שבר in Jer 14:17 and affine passages refer concretely to a wound in the generic sense, not a bone-break. The shattered integrity of an entity, figuratively or concretely, is described. One may also speak in Hebrew of a רוח נשברה ‘broken spirit’ and a לב נשבר ‘broken heart.’ The whole person is described as broken in Jer 8:21. Jer 14:17 contains the passive transformation of the double accusative construction of Qal שבר attested in Jer 17:18: one accusative (the patient) becomes the subject, the other (a cognate accusative) remains as before. It is counterintuitive for someone whose first language is English to think of passive constructions with internal accusatives, but that is the situation.

אז הלילה

הו הלילה

and this night

o this night

 

אז introduces a non-initial element in a sequence. Geffen’s song jumps around time-wise: lots of biblical precedent for that! The psalms also move from the future to the past and back to the future, as here, with lightning speed. Time as understood in song is often complex. Geffen’s song moves from a description of the indefinite future (and good will come) to the past as background and contrast (I’m crushed sometimes), to the immediate future (and this night, o this night, I will remain with you). A consummate singer like Broza renders the time of song by a combination of pause and intonation.

The article is sufficient with a word like יום or לילה, both in ancient and modern Hebrew, to indicate strong definiteness, this night, tonight. Here and elsewhere in the song, the intimacy of love between a man and a woman staves off the senselessness of a world turned upside down.

הו is best understood, from the historical point of view, as a short version of הוי. A great deal of nonsense has been written about this interjection. It has often been understood to imply that a funeral dirge or lament will follow, but this is only one of many specialized usages הוי is known to have had. It might be used an attention grabber in the marketplace (see Isa 55:1). It might also be used, singularly or twice-repeated, to grab the attention of the audience in a situation of great urgency (Zech 2:10,11). Twice repeated הו in Amos 5:16 shows that הו could be used to introduce laments upon the death of loved ones. הו in the song is a positive sigh. This is different again from the usages of הו and הוי known from the Bible.

I could go through the whole song in this way. My purpose has been to show that discussion of modern Hebrew song is a means to throw into relief grammatical and semantic features of ancient Hebrew. I will conclude with a presentation of the whole, with and without vowels, and a translation. The translation, of course, is pathetic, since it does not reproduce the rhyme scheme of the original. The sound orchestration of the song is exquisite. The advanced student should begin with the un-vocalized text.

A short list of biblical references that stand in the background, distant in some cases, near in others, might include 2 Kings 9:30-32; Genesis 3:16-17; Song of Songs 2:11; Proverbs 1:21; Jer 6:16; 14:17;  Isa 11:6.

אֲנִי מַבִּיט מֵהַחַלוֹן

וְזֶה עוֹשֶׂה לִי דֵּי עֲצוּב

הָאָבִיב חָלַף עָבַר לוֹ

מִי יוֹדֵעַ אִם יָשׁוּב

 

הַלִּיצָן הָיָה לְמֶלֶךְ

הַנָּבִיא נִהְיָה לִיצָן

וְשָׁכַחְתִּי אֶת הַדֶּרֶךְ

אֲבָל אֲנִי עוֹד כָּאן

 

 

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי נִשְׁבָּר

אָז הַלַּיְלָה

הוֹ הַלַּיְלָה

אִתָּךְ אֲנִי נִשְׁאָר

 

 

יְלָדִים לוֹבְשִׁים כְּנָפַיִם

וְעָפִים אֶל הַצָּבָא

וְאַחֲרֵי שְׁנָתַיִם

הֵם חוֹזְרִים לְלֹא תְּשׁוּבָה

 

אֲנָשִׁים חַיִּים בְּמֶתַח

מְחַפְּשִׂים סִיבָה לִנְשׁוֹם

וּבֵין שִׂנְאָה לָרֶצַח

מְדַבְּרִים עַל הַשָּׁלוֹם

 

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב

יִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי נִשְׁבָּר

אָז הַלַּיְלָה

הוֹ הַלַּיְלָה

אִתָּךְ אֲנִי נִשְׁאָר

 

שָׁם לְמַעְלָה בַּשָׁמַיִם

עֲנָנִים לוֹמְדִים לָעוּף

וַאֲנִי מַבִּיט לְמַעְלָה

וְרוֹאֶה מָטוֹס חָטוּף

 

מֶמְשַׁלוֹת וְגֶנֶרַלִּים

מְחַלְּקִים לָנוּ תְ'נוֹף

לְשֶׁלָּהֶם וּלְשֶלָּנוּ

מָתַי נִרְאֶה תְ'סוֹף

 

עוֹד נִלְמַד לִחְיוֹת בְּיַחַד

בֵּין חוֹרְשׁוֹת עֲצֵי זֵיתִים 

יְלָדִים יִחְיוּ בְּלִי פַּחַד

בְּלִי גְּבוּלוֹת בְּלִי מִקְלָטִים

 

עַל קְבָרִים יִפְרַח הָעֵשֶׂב

לְשָׁלוֹם וְאַהֲבָה

מֵאָה שָׁנִים שֶׁל חֶרֶב

וְעוֹד לֹא, לֹא אָבְדָה הַתִּקְוָה

 

הִנֵּה בָּא נָשִׂיא מִצְרַיִם

אֵיךְ שָׂמַחְתִּי לִקְרָאתוֹ

פִּירָמִידוֹת בָּעֵינַיִם

וְשָׁלוֹם בְּמִקְטָרְתּוֹ 

וְאָמַרְנוּ בּוֹא נַשְׁלִימָה

וְנִחְיֶה כְּמוֹ אַחִים

וְאָז הוּא אָמַר קָדִימָה 

רַק תֵּצְאוּ מֵהַשְּׁטָחִים

 

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב 

יִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

לִפְעָמִים אֲנִי נִשְׁבָּר

אָז הַלַּיְלָה

הוֹ הַלַּיְלָה

אִתָּךְ אֲנִי נִשְׁאָר

 

אֲנִי מַבִּיט מֵהַחַלוֹן

לִרְאוֹת אִם כֹּל זֶה אֲמִתִּי

מַבִּיט מֵהַחַלוֹן

וּמְמַלְמֵל אֶת תְּפִלָּתִי

 

עוֹד יָגוּר זָאֵב עִם כֶּבָש ׁ

וְנָמֵר יִרְבָּץ עִם גְּדִי

אַךְ בֵּינָתִים אַל תוֹצִיאִי

אֶת יָדֵךְ מִכַּף יָדִי

 

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב

יִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

אֲנִי מַבִּיט מֵהַחַלוֹן

אוּלַי מַגִּיעַ יוֹם חָדָשׁ 

וְיִהְיֶה טוֹב

יִהְיֶה טוֹב, כֵּן

I look out the window,

it makes me very sad,

spring is past, gone away,

who knows when it might return?

 

The clown has become a king,

the prophet become a clown,

and I’ve forgotten the way,

but I am still here,

 

and good will come.

Good will come, yeah,

sometimes I’m crushed,

and this night,

oh, this night,

I will stay with you.

 

Children put on wings,

and fly off to the army.

After two years,

they return without an answer.

 

People live in tension,

search for a reason to breathe,

between hatred and murder,

they talk about peace.

 

And good will come...

 

There, up in the sky,

clouds learn how to fly,

and I look up,

and see a hijacked plane.

 

Governments and generals

divide for us the vista,

what’s theirs and what’s ours.

When will we see the end?

 

We will yet learn to live together

between groves of olive trees,

children will live without fear,

without borders, without bunkers.

 

On graves grass will grow;

for the sake of peace and love,

one hundred years of the sword,

but we’ve not yet, not yet lost hope.

 

And good will come...

 

Here comes the prince of Egypt,

oh how I rejoiced to meet him!

Pyramids were in (our) eyes,

and peace in his pipe.

 

And we said, come, let's complete (it),

and live as brothers;

then he said, forward!

just go out from the territories!

 

And good will come...

 

I look out my window

to see if all this truth of mine,

looking out the window,

and mumbling my prayer.

 

The wolf will yet live with the lamb,

and the leopard lie down with the kid,

but in the meantime, do not remove

your hand from the palm of mine.

 

And good will come,

good will come, yeah.

I look out my window,

perhaps a new day is here.

And good will come,

good will come, yeah.

אני מביט מהחלון

וזה עושה לי די עצוב

האביב חלף עבר לו

מי יודע אם ישוב

 

הליצן היה למלך

הנביא נהיה ליצן

ושכחתי את הדרך

אבל אני עוד כאן

 

 

ויהיה טוב

יהיה טוב, כן

לפעמים אני נשבר

אז הלילה

הו הלילה

אתך אני נשאר

 

 

ילדים לובשים כנפים

ועפים אל הצבא

ואחרי שנתים

הם חוזרים ללא תשובה

 

אנשים חיים במתח

מחפשים סיבה לנשום

ובין שנאה לרצח

מדברים על השלום

 

ויהיה טוב...

 

שם למעלה בשמים

עננים לומדים לעוף

ואני מביט למעלה

ורואה מטוס חטוף

 

ממשלות וגנרלים

מחלקים לנו ת'נוף

לשלהם ולשלנו

מתי נראה ת'סוף

 

עוד נלמד לחיות ביחד

בין חורשות עצי זיתים 

ילדים יחיו בלי פחד

בלי גבולות בלי מקלטים

 

על קברים יפרח העשב

לשלום ואהבה

מאה שנים של חרב

ועוד לא, לא אבדה התקוה

הנה בא נשיא מצרים

איך שמחתי לקראתו

פירמידות בעינים

ושלום במקטרתו 

ואמרנו בוא נשלימה

ונחיה כמו אחים

ואז הוא אמר קדימה 

רק תצאו מהשטחים

 

יהיה טוב...

 

אני מביט מהחלון

לראות אם כל זה אמתי

מביט מהחלון

וממלמל את תפלתי

 

עוד יגור זאב עם כבש 

ונמר ירבץ עם גדי

אך בינתים אל תוציאי

את ידך מכף ידי

 

ויהיה טוב

יהיה טוב, כן

אני מביט מהחלון 

אולי מגיע יום חדש 

יהיה טוב

יהיה טוב, כן

---

[1] I vocalize, but, as I’ve pointed out before, it’s better to work with unvocalized text as soon as one is able.

[2] After a question, on the other hand, it was customary in ancient Hebrew to repeat a fragment of the question in the right tone of voice to signal assent.

Comments

[Robert Holmstedt]

I've been listening to Broza since we lived in Jerusalem. Not only do I like his guitar (although not the same way *he* does -- if you've heard about his concerts, then you know what I mean), but many of his lyrics evoke scenes of Israel so well I'm transported back when I listen.

What a great way to maintain an empathy for a language.

[eclexia]

I'm reminded as I read this that lament is inherently hopeful. Thank you for sharing this haunting and beautiful song and your translation (without which the song would be meaningless to me!) I appreciate the comparisons you drew in from the Hebrew scriptures.

[Phil Sumpter]

One of my favourite song happens to be by the Israeli group HaYehudim (the Jews). It's a kind of 'black psalm', called Mekhaps Tshuvah (searching for an answer). Not only do I love the text, I love the tangible agony in his voice as he stands before the void and gets no answer. You can listen to it here, but I beg you, don't watch the video! It's appalling and ruins the entire song. Turn it up loud and close your eyes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlchZ5cqloE&feature=related.

[eclexia]

And, Robert, I like the idea of having an "empathy for a language." I believe that is very important, but not a concept that is necessarily conveyed (at least intentionally) in most language learning courses.

[Robert Holmstedt]

"Empathy" has become an important part of how I conceptualize my Hebrew curriculum. In fact, the guiding objective for my 2nd year Ancient Hebrew course is "to gain an empathy for Hebrew as a language". To achieve this, we read *a lot* of texts (we finished 18 chapters of 1 Samuel this term -- only 13 weeks at U of T ) and also "rewrite" the texts (past to future, dialogue to monologue, etc.).

I have been amazed at how well they understand the texts even though they still misanalyze verbs and can't recite every paradigm back to me. (These are things I think that they should be able to do, but later -- which I why I've stretched our Hebrew sequence to 4 yrs).

Anyway, this has been a long way to say that "empathy" for a language has been a concept that has recently been very influential on my own language learning in addition to my language teaching.

[Robert Holmstedt]

One more: those of you who like listening to Israeli music to reinforce your Hebrew (particularly when it has biblical overtones, if not structure or even quotations) should check out the albums by Idan Raichel.

See the official site here: http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/index.php

I have some of the lyrics typed out in square script with nequdot (we listen to a few in 1st year Hebrew and even watch a video or two -- which you can find on YouTube).

[JohnFH]

Thanks, Phil, Eclexia, and Rob, for comments and suggestions. I'm pleased to hear what's happening at U of T (an alma mater of mine, so I'm partial).

[Robert Weidner]

I find it enjoyable listening to Michal Cohen. She started her musical training at the age of 6. Her songs Sapri Tama and Yemeite Medley have a nice beat. Her song Ode L'eli is just vocal, but she has a beautiful voice. Both are on iTunes.

I'm just learning Hebrew and don't have much of a vocabulary yet, but as time passes and my Hebrew improves, these artists - and these posts - will be more useful and inspirational to me.

You can listen to samples of two of the mentioned pieces at http://cdbaby.com/cd/mcohen Check her out and maybe she'll be added to your favorite artists.

[JohnFH]

Thanks, Robert, for the helpful tip.