Sing It Loud: ‘Ani Yechudi’

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And here, for your pleasure, is a translation of the Hebrew lyrics, sung movingly by a group of 10 singers:

When I ask myself who I am,
I am a bit Sephardi, a bit Ashkenazi,
A bit Israeli, a droplet Exilic
Perhaps I’m religious, perhaps secular,
But between me and myself, I am a Jew,
That is my uniqueness,
Not better than the Other, not worse
Simply Jewish.

Sometimes a soldier, sometimes a student,
I have a huge past, and I also see the future
Sometimes a mitnaged [the opposite of Hasid], sometimes a Hasid,
Perhaps materialistic, perhaps spiritual,
But always, always, I am a Jew and that is my uniqueness.
Not worse, nor better, a different drop, simply Jewish.

Suddenly I returned from afar,
So that we can be here together, that I can be more secure,
That I can return to laughter, that I can live with nakhes and not fear,
Because I am a Jew, and that is my uniqueness
Not better, nor worse, simply a Jew.

My brother, nothing will succeed in breaking me,
My soul is part of an eternal higher light
To mend the world [l’taken et ha’olam] is my reality,
That is how I was born, I am a Jew
Simply a Jew, just as in other religions
I have holidays and Shabbatot and customs and mitzvot.
Though everyone is confident of his rightness,
In the end we are all Jews before the Throne of His Honor.

I am terribly afraid of baseless hatred,
Love my land, love my people,
I have been here and there and in all the world
Whatever you ask, I’ll have two opinions
And also a third,
Because I am a Jew.
That is my uniqueness, not worse, not better, a bit different,
Simply a Jew.