Jerusalem 1967 by Yehuda Amichai
"Jerusalem 1967" is a notable poem by Yehuda Amichai that reflects on the complexities of Jerusalem, a city rich in history and cultural significance. Spanning twenty-two sections, the poem explores a broad range of themes, from political and spiritual dimensions to personal experiences, capturing the vibrant and multifaceted nature of the city. Amichai presents Jerusalem not as a place that can be easily defined, but rather as a space filled with emotional depth and contradictions. The poem opens with a sense of refuge, suggesting that returning to Jerusalem can heal past pains. However, it also delves into the moral ambiguities present in the city, particularly highlighting the impact of war on its younger generations. In its conclusion, the poem acknowledges the challenges of encapsulating such an ancient place, ultimately emphasizing its complex foundations and the silences that characterize its existence. Through vivid imagery and thoughtful reflection, Amichai invites readers to engage with the enduring mystery of Jerusalem.
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Jerusalem 1967 by Yehuda Amichai
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: “Yerushalyim 5728,” 1967 (collected in The Selected Poetry of Yehuda Amichai, 1996)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Perhaps the most unique characteristics of “Jerusalem 1967” are its length and figurative expansiveness. Known primarily for his distinctly concise lyric poems, here Amichai opens up and for once allows himself the space and abandon requisite of such a portentous subject. In a sense, Jerusalem serves both as the capital of Israel and the capital of the poem. Throughout its twenty-two thematically varied but stylistically cohesive sections, Amichai explores the countless notions—political, spiritual, and personal—that his adopted homeland and its luminous capital have come to embody in the two decades that it has been the poet’s home.
“Jerusalem 1967” does not attempt to define the city; Amichai never implies that such a feat is even possible. However, through a series of colorful vignettes he does attempt to evoke all of its vibrancy, complexity, and mystery. The opening stanzas of the poem describe Jerusalem as a place of refuge, its speaker exuberantly observing that “A person returning to Jerusalem feels that places/ That were painful no longer hurt.” By the middle sections, Jerusalem is paradoxically transformed into a haven of moral ambiguity, a place of “children growing half in the ethics of their fathers/ And half in the teachings of war.” In the concluding section of the poem the speaker is somehow able to reconcile himself to the fact that such an ancient and monolithic city cannot be summed up in a series of mere metaphors, no matter how bold or illustrative. Instead, all he can conclude is that Jerusalem “is built on varied foundations/ Of restrained scream.” It is indeed the city’s restraint, its silence, its stoic and unflinching obstinacy that makes it the evasive totem of awe that “Jerusalem 1967” purports it to be.
Bibliography
Abramson, Glenda, ed. The Experienced Soul: Studies in Amichai. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1997.
Abramson, GlendaThe Writing of Yehuda Amichai: A Thematic Approach. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989.
Alter, Robert. After the Tradition: Essays on Modern Jewish Writing. New York: Dutton, 1969.
Alter, Robert. “Israel’s Master Poet.” The New York Times Magazine, June 8, 1986, 40.
Cohen, Joseph. Voices of Israel: Essays on and Interviews with Yehuda Amichai, A. B. Yehoshua, T. Carmi, Aharon Appelfeld, and Amos Oz. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.
Hirsch, Edward. “In Language Torn from Sleep.” The New York Times Book Review, August 3, 1986, pp. 14-15.
Hirsch, Edward. “At the White Heat.” In How to Read a Poem: And Fall in Love with Poetry. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999.
Lapon-Kandelshein, Essi. To Commemorate the Seventieth Birthday of Yehuda Amichai: A Bibliography of His Work in Translation. Ramat Gan, Israel: Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature, 1994.
Publishers Weekly. Review of Open Closed Open, by Yehuda Amichai. (March 20, 2000): 71.
Williams, C. K. “Yehuda Amichai” (obituary). The New Republic (October 9, 2000): 28.