On busy King George St, in the centre of town, stands a wide arch with a prominent clock as its centrepiece. Israelis gather in the shade beneath this arch, waiting for one of the many buses that come by. A little bit of research revealed to me that it is the sole remaining edifice of a Christian girls’ orphanage that was established in the middle of the 19th century and demolished almost thirty years ago. While many Israelis are undoubtedly aware of its provenance, I wonder how many are aware of the provenance of its message?
Get up, little girl?
Yes, but you should try to make it sound less like a lyric from the early 90s. It is said by Jesus in the Gospel according to Mark, to a deceased girl who subsequently rises. There is something deliciously subversive about that being there and most people not having a clue. Sometimes the things that are the least obvious are the ones that are put right in people’s faces.
I had arrived at the same translation, though I must confess that I expected your notion to be less, uh, sanitary, in origin.
Good for you.