penned a new verse which modified the second verse. Instead of “Alas . . . the [Old City] shuk is empty and we cannot visit the Temple Mount,” she wrote: “We have returned to . . . the shuk; the shofar is sounding at the Temple Mount. . .” — thereby informing the paratroopers through the song, that Israel had captured the Western Wall and Temple Mount. The line about the shofar sounding from the Temple Mount is a reference to army chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren’s sounding the shofar immediately after capture of the Western Wall. Shemer later stated that she did not intend for this new verse to replace the second verse, and that the original three verses should remain the official song. Themes Many of the lyrics refer to traditional Jewish poetry and themes, particularly dealing with exile and longing for Jerusalem. "Jerusalem of Gold" is a reference to a special piece of jewelry mentioned in a famous Talmudic legend about Rabbi Akiva; "To all your songs, I am a lyre" is a reference "Zion ha-lo Tish'ali", one of the "Songs to Zion" by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi: "I cry out like the jackals when I think of their grief; but, dreaming of the end of their captivity, I am like a harp for your songs. The poem is woven with mournful Biblical references to the destruction of Jerusalem and subsequent exile of the Jewish people. איכה (the lament "How?") is the first word of the Book of Lamentations and its traditional Hebrew title; the next two words, "the city that sits solitary," appear in the second stanza. "If I forget thee Jerusalem" is a quote from Psalm 137, i.e. "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion." This contrasts with the joyous return from exile in the fourth verse. "Like the kiss of a Seraph" is a reference to Isaiah 6:7. Talmudic references, too, are present. "[A]nd to adorn crowns to you" uses the Talmudic concept of adorning crowns, used by the Talmud to describe the a few things, including Sandalphon's service to God. Other versions Many artists have recorded their own versions of the song. Queen Ofir Israeli/American Creator and Internationally known performer recorded a modern version of the song for the celebration of Jerusalem Day 2020. Daliah Lavi Israeli actress and singer performed the song in 1969 on the