Esther Ofarim (Hebrew: אסתר עופרים‎, born Esther Zaied, 13 June 1941 in Saf… Read Full Bio ↴Esther Ofarim (Hebrew: אסתר עופרים‎, born Esther Zaied, 13 June 1941 in Safed) is an Israeli female vocalist.

She met Abi Ofarim, a guitarist and dancer, in 1959 and subsequently married him. With her husband and without him she began to sing Hebrew and international folk songs.

In 1960 Esther got a small role in the film Exodus. In 1961 Esther won the Song Festival in Tel Aviv, where she sang "Saeni imcha bemachol" and "Neama". Two years later, Esther made the 2nd place at the Eurovision Song Contest with "T'en vas pas", representing Switzerland.

From then on, her duo with her then husband Abi Ofarim began take off. In 1966 they had their first hit in Germany with "Noch einen Tanz". Their greatest success in Germany was "Morning of my Life" in 1967, which was written by the Bee Gees. In 1968 the Ofarims had their international breakthrough with "Cinderella Rockefella", which hit the top of the charts in a number of countries including the UK. They played many live concerts in New York and London, and in 1969 they toured around the world.

As result of problems in both business, and personal relations, they divorced in 1970 [1] (in German).

Esther started her solo career with several albums and concerts. In 1984 she played in Joshua Sobol's piece "Ghetto", produced by Peter Zadek in Berlin (Germany). There she sang some songs, including "Frühling" and "Unter deinen weissen Sternen". The play was extremely successful, which was attributed in part to Esther's strong presence.

Since 1998, Esther Ofarim has been performing several concerts each year, especially in Israel and Germany. This includes annual concerts in the Hamburger Kammerspiele.

Ofarim's songs were prominently featured in the 2004 Israeli film, Walk on Water.

Jerusalem
Esther Ofarim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Jerusalem sang to me one night
Made me feel as light
As any star is bright
She sang "I bring you peace"

A stranger led the way we followed
And choking on the tears we swallowed
We could not hide as

She sang: "I bring you peace"

Yerushalem Be'or kochav
Lev Ha'Zman, Kduma, Chubra Yachdav
Bocha Ke'Yeled kat
Ea'heye Imach

ירושלם באור
כוכב
לב הזמן,
קדומה, חוברה
יחדיו

בוכה כילד קט
אהיה עמך

Overall Meaning

The song Yerushalem by Esther Ofarim is a beautiful and emotional tribute to the city of Jerusalem. In the first verse, the singer describes how one night, Jerusalem sang to her and filled her with a sense of lightness that made her feel as bright as a star. The city offers her peace, and this sentiment is echoed in the second verse, where the singer describes following a stranger to the city with tears in her eyes. Jerusalem is singing to her once again, promising peace to those who make the journey to the city.

The lyrics of Yerushalem capture the depth of emotion and spiritual significance that many people feel when they visit the holy city. It is a place of deep historical meaning and religious significance for Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. The song speaks to the sense of awe and wonder that comes with being in such a special place and the feeling of being overwhelmed with emotion.

Overall, Yerushalem is a beautiful and moving piece of music that captures the essence of Jerusalem and what it means to so many people around the world.

Line by Line Meaning

Jerusalem sang to me one night
During the night, I felt the soothing melody that Jerusalem was singing to me.

Made me feel as light
The song made me feel weightless and free from all burdens.

As any star is bright
The radiance of the song was as luminous as that of a shining star.

She sang 'I bring you peace'
Jerusalem's song conveyed the message of peace to me.

A stranger led the way we followed
An unfamiliar person guided us, and we trailed behind them.

And choking on the tears we swallowed
We struggled to contain our emotions and were overwhelmed with sorrow and tears.

We could not hide as
There was no place to conceal our emotions,

She sang: 'I bring you peace'
Even as we were unable to hide our feelings, the song affirmed that we can attain inner peace.

Yerushalem Be'or kochav
Jerusalem is a city shining bright like a star.

Lev Ha'Zman, Kduma, Chubra Yachdav
It is the heart of time, ancient, and united oneness.

Bocha Ke'Yeled kat
Jerusalem weeps like a little child,