את מי אני אוהב | Et mi ani ohev? | Who Do I Love? (1912)

Artist: Abraham Zvi Idelsohn (1882-1938)

Lyrics: Yisrael Teler

Tune: Ben-Yehuda

This song was written by the poet Israel Teler (1882-1935), who was active in the Zionist movement Hibat Zion (Love of Zion), probably after his immigration to Erets Yisrael in 1896.

“Et mi ani ohev?” presents a question: "Who do I love?" This single question receives many answers: "I love my father; I love my mother and all I have; I love them all”. The series continues in the second verse: "I love my brothers and sisters, my friends, my teachers and the Torah”. And the singer continues: "I love reading and writing, going out and sitting down, books and notebooks, stories and songs, scenes and voices, motions and dances – all I love very much”. Serial songs such as this one, which stress the values of family and Jewish studies, became a popular pedagogical device.

Idelsohn (Ben-Yehuda) composed a melody in a major key.