The Jewish Year
By Jessie E. Sampter
Annotations by Mary Miller/KK
Museum. Public domain.
Our year begins with burnished leaves,
That flame in frost and rime,
With purple grapes and golden sheaves
In harvest time. [1]
Our year begins with biting cold,
With winds and storms and rain;
The new year of the Jew grows old
In strife and pain.
When others say the year has died,
We say the year is new,
And we arise with power and pride
To prove it true.
For we begin where others end,
And fight where others yield;
And all the year we work and tend
Our harvest field.
And after days of stormy rain
And days of drought and heat,
When those that toiled have reaped their grain,
And all’s complete.
Oh then, when God has kept his word,
In peace we end our year.
Our fruit is certain from the Lord.
We shall not fear. [2]
SAMPTER, JESSIE E. “THE JEWISH YEAR.” IN AROUND THE YEAR IN RHYME FOR THE JEWISH CHILD, 12. NEW YORK: BLOCH PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1920.
[1] There are four “new year” observances in the Hebrew calendar: one for civil purposes, one for certain agricultural laws, one for animals, including people, and one for trees. Rosh Hashana (September 6 in 2021) is the formal New Year holiday and celebrates the creation of humans.
[2] The Hebrew year ends after the harvest.
Contexts
Zionism was established as a political organization in 1897 under Theodor Herzl, and was later led by Chaim Weizmann. Jessie E. Sampter was American Zionism’s foremost educator during the time between WWI and WWII. She organized Hadassah’s School of Zionism, training young leaders for Zionist girls’ clubs and adult speakers for Hadassah and the general Zionist organizations, including the Federation of American Zionists. As a young woman from an assimilated Jewish family, Sampter became a spiritual seeker and eventually a passionate Zionist. She was also a pacifist and a poet, with a special interest in educating Jewish children. This poem was published in a collection of her poems for children, organized around the theme of the important events on the Jewish calendar, which is different than the one commonly used in the United States.
Definitions from Oxford English Dictionary:
Zionism: Originally: a movement among Jewish people for the re-establishment of a Jewish nation in Palestine. Later: a movement for the development and protection of the state of Israel.
Hadassah: An American Zionist women’s organization, founded in 1912, which contributes to welfare work in Israel.
Definition from Dictionary.com:
Hadassah: a benevolent organization of Jewish women founded in New York City in 1912 by Henrietta Szold and concerned chiefly with bettering medical and educational facilities in Israel, forwarding Zionist activities in the U.S., and promoting world peace.
Resources for Further Study
- For students:
- Learn more about the history of American women in the Zionist movement.
Contemporary Connections
Zionist issues continue to be polarizing throughout the world. Israel and Palestine are engaged in perpetual conflict that contributes to the political instability in the Middle East. Seeds of Peace is an organization with the goal of bringing students and educators from both sides of the conflict together. They believe that through education and dialogue new leaders will develop with shared goals and mutual respect. This brief video explains their philosophy and their mission.
