If I had just one wish,
I’d close my eyes, then
I’d be in Jerusalem,
Once again.
Jerusalem, If the world only knew
That everything emanates from you,
Blessing, chastisement,
The stormy, the blue,
They’d pray for your good
As Your children do.
Foes still seek your conquest
From without and within,
Holy smoke from your korbanos
Ascends to heaven;
The nations rejoiced
On the day that you fell,
But 1,000 years of darkness
Engulfed them, as well.
Seventy bulls on your alter
Offered for their sake,
Kept them from the fall
The world, then, had to take.
We’ve drunk bitter poison
From twisted vines,
Betrayed You, HaKadosh Baruch Hu,
A thousand times
Basking in illusion,
Closed our eyes to the signs.
Sought our fortunes
In bleak lands
Far from your estate,
Till each nation’s warm welcome
Contorted to hate
As each one turns hostile;
Our future there, doomed;
Bring to mind, days of danger,
When the Holocaust loomed.
Europe is dead,
Chaos has been released,
Nation after nation
Succumbs to the beast;
We would pray for success,
All we seek now is peace;
Searching for understanding,
Our eyes look to the east.
Father, please, I want to come home
Amongst all these crowds
Yet I feel so alone.
I’ll leave comfort behind,
Give up all that I own,
Let my feet reach your streets
Of cobblestone;
Tearstained, in tatters
That no longer matters,
I’ll gladly face hardship,
Hunger, and cold;
To be back in Jerusalem,
Your city of gold.
In moments of darkness
Tender mercies unfold,
Rays of hope reach my heart,
Assurance takes hold;
There is hope for the future
From days of old,
Healing my soul, my broken soul.
Jerusalem, one day the world will know,
See revealed, the prophets’
Words of long ago,
When G-d speeds justice,
Light, and truth everywhere,
Builds His Beis HaMikdash –
I want to be there.
By Sharon Marcus
