Golus, Golus

(Oy) golus, golus, vi groys bistu!

Shkhine HaKedoyshe, vi vayt bistu!

Ven der golus volt kleyner gevoren,

Volt di Shkhine neynter gevoren.

Oh, exile, exile, how vast you are!
Holy Presence (of God), how far You are!
When the exile becomes smaller,
The Holy Presence will get closer.

(User​-contribu​ted translati​on)

A Yiddish song written by Rebbe Isaac of Kalov, zt"l, the first Kalover Rebbe.
This is a version of a song which came from Hungary, originally about a rose in a forest. The Rebbe adapted it to be about the Jewish people in exile accompanied by the Presence of God.

This song is featured in this medley by legendary Hasidic cantor David Werdyger:


An older version and a short history of the song can be found here: http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=3383&pgnum=173

The version above is the same as the version in the youtube video.