בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה | baShanah haBa'ah (Next Year), an elegy by Ehud Manor for his brother killed during the War of Attrition (1968)

Source Link: https://opensiddur.org/?p=37814

Date: 2021-06-26

Last Updated: 2025-03-27

Categories: Mourning, Rosh haShanah (l’Maaseh Bereshit), Nirtsah, War

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., elegies, lamentation, Prayers as poems, War of Attrition, ישראל Yisrael, קינות Ḳinōt

Excerpt: "baShanah haBa'ah" (Next Year) by Ehud Manor written in 1968 in memory of his brother Yehudah. . . .

Content:

Source (Hebrew)	Translation (English)
בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה נֵשֵׁב עַל הַמִּרְפֶּסֶת וְנִסְפֹּר צִפֳּרִים נוֹדְדוֹת	Next year We’ll sit on the porch And count migrating birds
יְלָדִים בְּחֻפְשָׁה יְשַׂחֲקוּ תּוֹפֶסֶת בֵין הַבַּיִת לְבֵין הַשָּׂדוֹת.	Children on vacation Will play tag Between the house and the fields.
עוֹד תִּרְאֶה עוֹד תִּרְאֶה כַּמָּה טוֹב יִהְיֶה בַּשָּׁנָה בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה	You will yet see, you will yet see How good it will be Next year.
עֲנָבִים אֲדֻמִּים יַבְשִׁילוּ עַד הָעֶרֶב וְיֻגְּשׁוּ צוֹנְנִים לַשֻּׁלְחָן	Red grapes Will ripen till the evening And will be served chilled to the table.
וְרוּחוֹת רְדוּמִים יִשְׂאוּ אֶל אֵם הַדֶּרֶךְ עִתּוֹנִים יְשָׁנִים וְעָנָן	And languid winds Will carry to the crossroads Old newspapers and a cloud.
בַּשָּׁנָה הַבָּאָה נִפְרֹשׂ כַּפּוֹת יָדַיִם מוּל הָאוֹר הַנִּגָּר הַלָּבָן	Next year We will spread out our hands Towards the radiant light.
אֲנָפָה לְבָנָה תִּפְרֹשׂ בָּאוֹר כְּנָפַיִם וְהַשֶּׁמֶשׁ תִּזְרַח בְּתוֹכָן	A white heron Like a light will spread her wings And within them the sun will rise.
עוֹד תִּרְאֶה…	You will yet see…

---

“baShanah haBa’ah” (Next Year) by Ehud Manor (1941-2005) was first published in 1970 as sung with music by Nurit Hirsch and performed by the duo Ilan & Ilanit (Hanna Dresner-Tzakh and Shlomo Zach). The song was written by Manor in memory of his younger brother, Yehuda Wiener (1949-1968), who was killed in a tank battle by Egyptian gunfire in the Sinai Desert during the War of Attrition. We are not certain whether the English translation appearing in David Breakstone and Cindy Jochnowitz’s The Israel Experience Book (1977), p.242, was by Manor or remains uncredited.

Source(s)

“Bashana haBa’ah” by Ehud Manor (The Israel Experience Book 1977), p.242

 

Contributor: Unknown Translator(s)

Co-authors:

• 
  Name: Unknown Translator(s)
  Bio: Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please let us know!
  Website:
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/unknown-translator
• 
  Name: Ehud Manor
  Bio: Ehud Manor (אהוד מנור; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an acclaimed Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, having written or translated over 1,000 songs. In 1998, he was awarded the Israel Prize for his exceptional contributions to Israeli music.
  Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehud_Manor
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/ehud-manor
• 
  Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
  Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
  Website: https://aharon.varady.net
  Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

Featured Image:

Title: Six day war. Israeli armour preparing for action on the outskirts of Rafa.
Caption: Six day war. Israeli armour preparing for action on the outskirts of Rafa.