Yerushalayim Shel Zahav: the story, the meaning and the Hebrew behind every line
Naomi Shemer wrote Yerushalayim Shel Zahav for the 1967 Israeli Song Festival, weeks before the Six-Day War. Shuli Natan sang it alone with a guitar, soldiers sang it at the Western Wall days later, and it has been Israel's unofficial second anthem ever since. It is also the single best Hebrew song for a beginner to study.
Where the title comes from
"Jerusalem of gold" is not Shemer's invention. The Talmud tells of Rabbi Akiva promising his wife a golden ornament called yerushalayim shel zahav, and medieval poets used the phrase for the city itself. Shemer folds that thousand-year-old image into a modern pop melody, which is why the song feels ancient and contemporary at once.
The imagery, line by line
The opening — avir harim tzalul kayayin, mountain air clear as wine — pairs the physical altitude of Jerusalem with wine, the language of blessing. The pine scent carried on the evening wind (ve'reach oranim) sets the season. Then comes the loneliness: a city sitting with a wall through its heart, its market empty, no one descending to the Dead Sea by way of Jericho — the pre-1967 reality of a divided city.
The final verse reverses everything: the shofar sounds, the gates reopen, and the singer becomes the instrument — ani kinor, I am a violin — for the city's songs.
Vocabulary worth stealing from this song
These words repeat across Hebrew poetry, prayer and news.
- אֲוִיר avir — air
- הָרִים harim — mountains
- צָלוּל tzalul — clear, limpid
- יַיִן yayin — wine
- רֵיחַ reach — scent
- חוֹמָה choma — wall
- שׁוֹפָר shofar — ram's horn
- כִּנּוֹר kinor — violin
- זָהָב zahav — gold
Why it works as a lesson
The tempo is slow, every syllable is fully pronounced, and the vocabulary is concrete and visual. Play it with the karaoke-synced lyrics, nikud on, transliteration on for the first two passes, then switch the transliteration off and see how much of the Hebrew your eye can hold alone.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Jerusalem of Gold?
Naomi Shemer wrote both the words and the music in 1967; Shuli Natan first performed it at that year's Israeli Song Festival.
Why is Jerusalem called the city of gold?
The phrase comes from Talmudic and medieval Hebrew poetry, where a golden ornament named after Jerusalem became a byword for the city's beauty and the golden light on its stone.
Is Jerusalem of Gold the Israeli national anthem?
No, the anthem is Hatikvah. Jerusalem of Gold is widely treated as an unofficial second anthem.