{"id":12964,"date":"2019-01-07T12:55:34","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T10:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/2019\/01\/07\/natan-alterman-elifelet"},"modified":"2019-01-07T12:56:16","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T10:56:16","slug":"natan-alterman-elifelet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/2019\/01\/07\/natan-alterman-elifelet\/","title":{"rendered":"Natan Alterman: Elifelet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"embed\"><iframe width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yybcv00U148?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p>\n<p><em>Performed here by the IDF for Memorial Day,<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yybcv00U148\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> this song<\/a>, written as a poem by Natan Alterman in 1959 and put to music by Sasha Argov, tells the story of a simple, unimpressive young man who emerges as a hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of his comrades in war.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Elifelet by Natan Alterman<\/h2>\n<p>Let\u2019s sing a Song of Elifelet.<br \/>\nLet\u2019s recite it together out loud.<br \/>\nHow when he was a tyke, a young fellow \u2014<br \/>\nA real klutz, a\u00a0<em>schlimazel<\/em>, avowed.<\/p>\n<p>All the neighbors and folks they would prattle,<br \/>\n\u201cHe\u2019s plain hopeless,\u201d upon him they\u2019d pounce.<br \/>\n\u201cElifelet\u2019s a boy without mettle,<br \/>\nWithout character, even an ounce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you grab from his hands a new plaything,<br \/>\nHe just sits there agape with a grin.<br \/>\nYes he\u2019s smiles, never knowing the reason<br \/>\nWhat a smile\u2019s for or when to begin.<\/p>\n<p>And the neighbors they all looked askance,<br \/>\nThat a pin-drop would cause him to dance,<br \/>\nWithout questioning \u201cwhy\u2019 or \u201cwherefore\u201d,<br \/>\nNo \u201cifs\u201d, or \u201cbuts\u201d, or \u201cmaybe\u201d,<br \/>\nNo \u201cwhen to begin\u201d or \u201cwhat for?\u201d<br \/>\nNo \u201chow much\u201d or \u201cno, that\u2019s crazy.\u201d<br \/>\nAs if lost in a musical score<br \/>\nWith a melody clear as a bell-hit.<br \/>\nIf we ask\u00a0you \u201cWhat good is that\u00a0for?<br \/>\nWhat a child you are, Elifelet!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One night battle erupted, a firefight<br \/>\nAnd the men of the company heard<br \/>\nThat the forward position was cut off,<br \/>\nAmmunition all gone, not a word.<\/p>\n<p>Elifelet, he felt some compulsion<br \/>\nTo replenish his comrades\u2019 supply.<br \/>\nNot an ounce of much character in him,<br \/>\nHe crawled straight toward the firing line.<\/p>\n<p>When he made it back, addled and injured,<br \/>\nHe collapsed to the floor, with a grin.<br \/>\nYes he smiled, not knowing the reason<br \/>\nWhat a smile\u2019s for or when to begin.<\/p>\n<p>And his friends in their hearts cast a glance \u2013<br \/>\nYes a pin-drop would cause him to dance,<br \/>\nWithout questioning \u201cwhy\u2019 or \u201cwherefore\u201d,<br \/>\nNo \u201cifs\u201d, or \u201cbuts\u201d, or \u201cmaybe\u201d,<br \/>\nNo \u201cwhen to begin\u201d or \u201cwhat for?\u201d<br \/>\nNo \u201chow much\u201d or \u201cno, that\u2019s crazy.\u201d<br \/>\nAs if lost in a musical score<br \/>\nWith a melody clear as a bell-hit.<br \/>\nIf we ask\u00a0you \u201cWhat good is that\u00a0for?<br \/>\nWhat a child you are, Elifelet!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yes that night in a battlefield helmet<br \/>\nGabriel, the Archangel, came down,<br \/>\nNear the resting head of Elifelet,<br \/>\nIn the outpost, on top of a mound.<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cHave no more fear, Elifelet,<br \/>\nTake thee courage, for I do pronounce<br \/>\nIn the Heavens we\u2019re proud and we\u2019re jealous,<br \/>\nOf your character, less than an ounce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a simple song, yet quite astounding,<br \/>\nWithout middle, beginning, or end,<br \/>\nLet us sing it, not knowing the reason<br \/>\nWhat a song\u2019s for or where to begin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Performed here by the IDF for Memorial Day, this song, written as a poem by Natan Alterman in 1959 and put to music by Sasha Argov, tells the story of a simple, unimpressive young man who emerges as a hero who sacrificed his life for the sake of his comrades in war. Elifelet by Natan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":12965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":[],"categories":[2550,2582,1051],"tags":[2501,2409,2431,375,2503,2516],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12964\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=12964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12964\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12965\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=12964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=12964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=12964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}