Banknotes and Coins

Goldberg’s poetry is contemplative, her language clear. Her works deal with intimate, personal issues and include descriptions of Israeli and European landscapes. Much of Goldberg’s work deals with the legacy from her life in Europe and with the Holocaust and its impact on her generation. Many of her poems have been set to music, among them “Is It True?”, “Atonement”, “The Love of Theresa di Meun” (“From My Window and Yours”), “Evening Opposite the Gilead” (“The Trees Are So Heavy”) and “The Hyacinth’s Song”. Goldberg wrote and edited numerous children’s books—among the most well-known are “Apartment for Rent”, “The Absent-Minded Man from Kfar Azar”, and “Where is Pluto”. Besides writing, Goldberg was involved in numerous related pursuits. She translated classics from world literature, including Tolstoy, Chekhov, Shakespeare and Ibsen. She also edited newspapers and children’s books, taught, and served as professor of general and comparative literature at Hebrew University. Goldberg’s writings earned her the Rubin Prize in 1949, and in 1970—posthumously—she was awarded the Israel Prize for belles-lettres.

The new NIS 100 denomination banknote is dedicated to Leah Goldberg’s work. The obverse bears her portrait against a background of almond blossoms, besides which in microlettering is the poem entitled “In the Land of my Love the Almond Tree is Blooming”. The reverse depicts a group of does—the inspiration for her poem “What Do the Does Do?”, the name of her first children’s book as well. The reverse also contains an excerpt from the poem “White Days, As Long As the Summer Rays of the Sun”.

The design of the 50 banknote reflects the rich and diverse poetry of Tchernichovsky and his relation to the land of Israel, along with his embrace and comprehensive knowledge of world culture. The face of the banknote carries his portrait and the lyrics of his poem “oh my country my homeland” in micro text, which inspired the incorporation of a citrus tree with fruits in the design of the banknote. The back of the note incorporates a Corinthian style column, reflecting Tchernichovsky’s interest in classical Greek works. A sentence from Tchernichovsky’s poem “I believe” is printed on the back of the banknote: “for I shall still believe in both Men and his spirit, fierce spirit”.

Rachel was born in Saratov, a city on the frontier of the Russian empire, to a Zionist family. She immigrated to Palestine in her youth. Rachel first settled in the city of Rehovot and later moved to Havat Ha’Alamot, a women’s farm, on the shores of Lake Galilee. She later moved to the Deganya kibbutz, where she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a disease which at the time was considered terminal, and which ultimately caused her untimely death.

She began writing in her youth in Russian. Her work was influenced by the Bible, contemporary pioneer literature, and sources and schools in Russian and French literature. Her poetry is remarkable for its simplicity and its succinct language. It expresses her loves, her disappointments, her pains and fears. It is replete with allusions to her short, tragic life; a large portion of it deals with awaiting death. Among her most famous poems are “Only about myself”, “To My Land”, “Encounter, Barely an Encounter”, “Kinneret” (“Yonder are the Golan Mountains”), “Sad Song” (“Do You Hear My Voice”), “Sealed Garden”, “Gift”, and others. Many of her poems have been set to music and were performed posthumously by Israel’s leading artists. Over the years they have become indispensable pillars of Israeli culture and poetry.

The design of the new NIS 20 denomination banknote evokes Rachel’s poetry and the landscapes of her life. The obverse bears her portrait against a background of palm fronds, besides which in microlettering is the poem “Kinneret”—the inspiration for the design of the banknote’s reverse. The reverse depicts a landscape from the Sea of Galilee, the lake of which Rachel wrote many poems and on whose shores she wished to be buried. In addition, the reverse bears an excerpt from “Perhaps it Never Happened...”: “O my Kinneret, Were you, Or was I dreaming?”