Tikvateinu / Hatikvah
naftali herz imber, 1886
“Our hope is not yet lost...”
Tikvateinu (Our Hope) was a poem published by Naftali Herz Imber in 1886 in Palestine, though he likely wrote a first draft in the 1870s while living in Eastern Europe. It’s an expression of hope and longing for the recreated Jewish homeland, drawing from a range of biblical and historical references. The poem was adopted in song form as the anthem of the Chovevi Zion (Lovers of Zion) movement. Changed and adapted over the years, the first two stanzas of the poem became the national anthem of the State of Israel, called Hatikvah (The Hope).