In Thy Gates, oh, Jerusalem

In honor of the recently (last Thursday) past Jerusalem Day in Israel - one of the classic songs written in its praise.

In Your Gates, Jerusalem was written by Yossi Gamzo, with music by Yehezkiel Bar-On.

The lyrics are intertwined with allusions to Biblical texts regarding Jerusalem -

• "עומדות רגלינו בשעריך" is an allusion to Psalms 122 ("Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.")


• "ציון הלא תשאלי לשלום בחוריך" is quote out of Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Levi ("Zion - will you not ask for you imprisoned ones");


• "אם אשכח ירושליים" - "If I forget Thee, oh Jerusalem..." (Psalms 137);


• "איכה ישבת בדד" is the opening of the Book of Lamentations ("How the City sits solitary?");


• "מאכלת ואיל", "The Knife and the Ram" is an allusion of the Sacrifice of Isaac, of which I had already written.


• "למנצח מזמור" is an allusion to e.g., Psalms 20, "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David." but also a pun, since in Modern Hebrew it means "To the Victorious One, A Psalm".

Probably there are several more allusions within, but being a rogue and peasant slave - those are all that I could see.
The text is extremely militant by modern standards -

איכה ישבת בדד, שסועה בין גדרות התייל
ואיך נשבענו לך, עיר מלך ונביא,
כי לא נישק נערותינו על שפתיים
עד אם נישק לכותל המערבי

Among the barbed-wired fences, how do you sit alone?
For prophets and for kings of you, we all
Have sworn, our kisses to our loved ones, we'll postpone
Until we've come to kiss the Western Wall!

(Tr. mine. apologies for the phrasing, the meter is difficult)

Performer in the recording (which is not the canonic one) is the great Israeli singer Yehoram Gaon.