Why is a Hebrew poem 2,500 years ago still important?

This oil painting "An der Wassern Babylons" created by Gebhard Fugel depicts the background of the Hebrew poem "Psalm 137". (? Public domain) This article was originally published in a dialogue meeting. This paper has contributed to the "comments and opinions" of experts in life sciences.

At sunset on July 3 1, Jews all over the world will watch Tisha B'av, which is the most gloomy festival for Jews. It commemorates the destruction of two temples in Jerusalem, first by the Babylonians, and then by the Romans in 70 A.D. about seven centuries later.

Jews will remember these two historic disasters and many other disasters, including their massacre during the first crusade; Deported by Britain, France and Spain; Holocaust.

The pattern of forced migration was established during the conquest of Babylon in 587-586 BC, when the elite of Judah was sent to Babylon and the temple was destroyed. Just like the story of Moses and Egypt's exodus, it happened centuries ago, and Babylon was in exile in the center of Judaism. Trauma is a melting pot, forcing Israelis to rethink their relationship with Jehovah, re-evaluate their status as chosen people and rewrite their history. The poem 137 by "KDSP" and "KDSP" is the theme of my latest book "Pine Tree in Exile", which is a Hebrew poem about Tasha BAV's exile with a history of 2,500 years. For a long time, it has been an inspiring historical analogy of various oppressed and conquered groups, including African-Americans. poetry

The origin of

Psalm 137 is just one of 150 psalms in the Bible, written at a specific time and place. Its nine poems describe the scene of prisoners mourning on the "Babylonian River" and are laughed at by prisoners. It expresses an oath to remember Jerusalem even in exile and ends with the fantasy of revenge on the oppressor. The exile stories of "KDSP" and "KDSP" passed back through the Bible are the centers of the main prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Mourning and Isaiah. The consequences of exile are described in Ezra and Nehemiah, when cyrus the great conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Israel. Rainer Albertz, a biblical scholar, estimates: "About 70% of the Hebrew Bible has solved the problem of exile. How is it possible? What lessons can Israel learn from it? " The hymn "Music" in the Bible is because a famous poem asks, "How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?" It is like a "poetic mongoose", which is very attractive to musicians and composers. Bach, dvorak and Verdi all created the musical background for it. Verdi's first pop opera, nabucco, tells the story of the captive.

The pop version of was recorded by American singer and songwriter don mclean (and used in an unforgettable scene in Mad Men). It once appeared in the musical Charm of God. Many artists recorded their own versions of the River Babylon. These include the Las Tafari-style version of Jamaican band Melody, and the 1978 blockbuster version of disco Bonny M. Bonny M has also inspired countless political leaders and social movements, as well as various immigrants, such as Irish and Koreans, to agree with this story.

William Billings, the first native American composer, lived during the War of Independence. He wrote an ode, depicting the people of Boston as oppressed Jews and the British oppressors as Babylonians. "At the riverside of Shuicheng, we sat down and cried when we thought of you in Boston. ...

In commemoration of American Independence Day, Frederick Douglass, the leader of abolitionism, made this hymn the center of his most famous speech, "What is the 4th of July for slaves?"1On July 5th, 852, in Collins Hall in Rochester, new york, Douglas told the audience that for a free black man like him, being expected to celebrate American independence was like being laughed at by Jewish prisoners. About 100 years later, after World War II, paul robeson, a dissident actor and singer, saw the profound similarities between the plight of Jews and African-Americans. He likes to play dvorak's

Some of the most famous African-American missionaries, including Detroit's C.L. Franklin (aretha franklin's father), also preached with hymns. In Franklin's example, he answered the central question of the poem: whether to sing "yes". So did barack obama's pastor Jeremiah Wright when he was in Chicago.

Paying attention to commemorative activities, then, what is the central message of hymns to today's world, what is the problem of KDSPE "KDSP", what to remember, what to forgive, and how to achieve justice have never been so troublesome. Babylon, originally a river of "KDSP" and "KDSP", is now destroyed by war-torn Iraq and Syria, and the prisoners in the story take refuge in this river. Millions of people in the region, mainly Syrians, have been forced to emigrate, which is having global consequences. This includes helping the rise of anti-immigrant populism throughout Europe and the United States. At the same time, biblical scholars are trying to explain the recently discovered wedge-shaped pill atlas, which more vividly describes the life of Jews in Babylon. That's right. Because every time we read the headlines, we are faced with all kinds of injustices. Remembering is as important as forgiving.

This is also Frederick Douglass's view. When it comes to enslaved compatriots, he said:

"If I really forget, if I remember those bleeding and sad children unfaithfully today, may my right hand forget her cunning and my tongue stick to my palate!" When Jews all over the world are commemorating Tisha Bavi, all they do is remember their history. This is also the message of Psalm 137. It concisely describes the way people deal with trauma: turn inward and vent their anger.

This is why hymns continue to cause people to sing, even today.

This is an updated version of an article, originally published on June 30th, 20 17.

David W. Stowe is a professor of English and religious studies at Michigan State University.

This article was originally published in Dialogue. Read the original. "