שיר המים | Shir ha-mayim | Water Song (1912)

Artist: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938)

Lyrics: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol

Tune: Foreign Melody

Idelsohn does not mention the source of “Shir ha-mayim” in Sefer Ha-Shirim. By the time his book was published, however, the song already enjoyed wide popularity among Zionists.

The text is attributed to the Iberian poet and philosopher Shlomo Ibn Gabirol (1012-1058). Ibn Gabirol’s poem, penned in medieval Hebrew, has been sung in Jewish communities – especially in the German lands, since the fifteen century – on the holiday of Purim, which commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people from their enemy, Haman, and is celebrated with feasting and costumes.

This satirical poem straddles the borderline between medieval secular and sacred poetry, characteristic of the Sephardic sphere in Andalusia. The lyrics feature implicit and semi-explicit biblical references. The Zionist movement adopted it as a satirical work.

“Shir ha-mayim” tells the following story: the poet’s friend, Moshe (Moses), has invited him to a banquet. The poet, who expects to be served wine, is served water instead. Watery tears stream from his eyes, and he likens the host to the biblical Moses. The work ends with the poet expressing the malicious hope that the host will be sworn to abstain from wine, like the biblical Rechabites.

In this version, Idelsohn included only the first verse. In the following song, no. 38a, he included four of the original five verses.

This melody, whose source is unidentified, is in a major key.