Happy Israeli Independence Day!
כֹּל עוֹד בַּלֵּבָב פְּנִימָה נֶפֶשׁ יְהוּדִי הוֹמִיָּה
וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה, עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה
עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ, הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם
לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ, אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם
As long as a Jewish soul still yearns in its innermost heart
And eyes turn east, onward, gazing toward Zion
Then our hope is not yet lost--the hope of two thousand years
To be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
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For those that don't know, this is Hatikvah ('The Hope'), and it's the Israeli National Anthem.
From etymonline.com:
orient (v.)
c.1727, originally "to arrange facing east," from Fr. s'orienter "to take one's bearings," lit. "to face the east" (also the source of Ger. orientierung), from O.Fr. orient "east," from L. orientum (see Orient (n.)). Meaning "determine bearings" first attested 1842; fig. sense is from 1850. Orienteering in ref. to a competitive sport is attested from 1948. Orientation is from 1839 and originally meant "arrangement of a building, etc., to face east or any other specified direction;" sense of "the action of determining one's bearings" is from 1868.
In our own language, we literally 'orient' ourselves when we face east, toward the Orient and toward Jerusalem. Jews pray facing eastward. Our synagogues face the east. They have since biblical days. It's important. It's part of us. Common speak has come to view orientation as the foundational position.
My eyes are turned eastward.
וּלְפַאֲתֵי מִזְרָח, קָדִימָה, עַיִן לְצִיּוֹן צוֹפִיָּה
עוֹד לֹא אָבְדָה תִּקְוָתֵנוּ, הַתִּקְוָה בַּת שְׁנוֹת אַלְפַּיִם
לִהְיוֹת עַם חָפְשִׁי בְּאַרְצֵנוּ, אֶרֶץ צִיּוֹן וִירוּשָׁלַיִם
As long as a Jewish soul still yearns in its innermost heart
And eyes turn east, onward, gazing toward Zion
Then our hope is not yet lost--the hope of two thousand years
To be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
---
For those that don't know, this is Hatikvah ('The Hope'), and it's the Israeli National Anthem.
From etymonline.com:
orient (v.)
c.1727, originally "to arrange facing east," from Fr. s'orienter "to take one's bearings," lit. "to face the east" (also the source of Ger. orientierung), from O.Fr. orient "east," from L. orientum (see Orient (n.)). Meaning "determine bearings" first attested 1842; fig. sense is from 1850. Orienteering in ref. to a competitive sport is attested from 1948. Orientation is from 1839 and originally meant "arrangement of a building, etc., to face east or any other specified direction;" sense of "the action of determining one's bearings" is from 1868.
In our own language, we literally 'orient' ourselves when we face east, toward the Orient and toward Jerusalem. Jews pray facing eastward. Our synagogues face the east. They have since biblical days. It's important. It's part of us. Common speak has come to view orientation as the foundational position.
My eyes are turned eastward.