Jerusalem of gold, of copper and of light, let me be a violin for all your songs. Naomi Shemer Shalom and welcome to my ba'it in Bavel, City of our Exile. My door, with its mezuzah (Hebrew: 'doorpost') stands open to receive you. [To find out more about the mezuzah, please see the entry in my Journal: Judaica: Signs and Symbols] I am Yehudit Ben Judah, daughter of Aharon the Physician, and of his wife, Tamar. I was brought from Yerushalayim as a tiny baby and have grown up knowing no other city but this. Life here is pleasant and agreeable, but my heart yearns for Yerushalayim. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Psalm 137 As I have said, life here is pleasant, and when I left my father's house to become wife to Ya'akov, a merchant, my new neighbours, who were not of our people, made us feel most welcome. Look at the beautiful welcome basket they prepared for us. My beloved Ya'akov died in the third year of our marriage, and since then I have lived alone with only my maid for company. My husband left me well-provided for, and my days are spent pleasantly among my books and the herbs and simples of my garden (for I have inherited my father's skills), and in the company of close friends. But although my life is easy in this land, however magnificent this city, with its temples and gardens, it is not Tziyon, not Yerushalayim. Enjoy your stay in my home. As time goes by I shall be adding items that I hope you will find thought-provoking and interesting. Lehitra'ot — Until we meet again. Yehudit (Judith) in Hebrew. From RIGHT to left: Yud, Hey, Vav, Dalet, Yud, Tav. My monogram, YBJ, in cuneiform. Click the clay tablets to get your own. Hey! my poem was nominated! Kewl Back to top Acknowledgements To see my home in all its glory, you need the Papyrus font. I have been unable to find a free download, but it seems to come pre-installed with Windows XP. I am the onlie begetter of the basic HTML; the coding for the cool effects such as the coloured scroll bar is by Bithia Nebet. The code for changing fonts was 'borrowed' from Lalita Ashoka. Some of the HTML is encrypted.Any HTML can be encrypted using this website; if you have your own website, you can use it to conceal your email address from spambots. The javascript for the trailing stars cursor (I made the stars) is by Brian Caputo and can be downloaded from Lissa Explains It All. The script for the falling blossom (I made the blossom) in my Courtyard is by Altan©; it, too, is available at Lissa Explains It All The cuneiform monogram is courtesy of University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. All non-standard graphics on this homesite (except such items as membership plaques and quiz results, etc) are by me using Paint Shop Pro, and are for Yehudit's use only, unless I have given prior permission. My avatar is the much-missed Ofra Haza, the Israeli singer with the astonishing voice. My mezuzah, with its night scene of Jerusalem comes from an online store called MileChai.com My "Jerusalem of Gold" was made from this image of a model of Jerusalem. The quotation that accompanies the image is from the beautiful song Yerushalayim shel zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) by Naomi Shemer. Back to top