Yerushalayim wasn't destroyed when the flames rose into the sky. It was destroyed the day the enemy found an opening. Every heart has walls. Every soul has gates. And every battle begins there.
The city did not fall at once The flames had not yet climbed The stones were still standing tall The gold still seemed to shine
But something broke before the fire Something opened in the wall And once the outside entered in The inside felt the fall
The wall falls first The wall falls first Before the fire The wall falls first
A Mikdash does not fall in a moment A heart does not break in a day First there is a little opening Where the holiness slips away
First I let the noise come in First I let the border go Then I wonder why the flame inside Does not burn the way I know
The wall falls first The wall falls first Before the shame The wall falls first
עִיר פְּרוּצָה אֵין חוֹמָה אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֵין מַעְצָר לְרוּחוֹ A city open to every wind A heart with nowhere safe to go
I thought no walls meant freedom I thought no gates meant light But every voice became my master Every desire claimed the right
Build me a wall Not of fear, not of stone Build me a heart That can guard what is its own
If the gates are broken open Then the holy starts to fall Before the Mikdash burns There is a breach inside the wall
So we fast before the burning We cry before the flame For the day the wall was broken Was the day we lost the frame
Still the city had its towers Still the courtyards had their song But when kedushah has no border It cannot stand for long
The wall falls first The wall falls first Before the fire The wall falls first
Some men build their walls from money Some men build their walls from pride Some men hide behind their anger And call it strength inside
But gold is only imagination And pride is only sand A real wall is self-control And a soul that knows to stand
Build me a wall Not of fear, not of stone Build me a heart That can guard what is its own
If the gates are broken open Then the holy starts to fall Before the Mikdash burns There is a breach inside the wall
I do not ask for walls of coldness I do not ask to close my eyes I ask for holy borders Where the inner fire survives
Teach me when to close the gate Teach me when to turn away Teach me how to hold the line Before the ruin has its day
Rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim Rebuild the walls inside of me Close the cracks where I went wandering Guard the place where I am free
Let the outside stay outside Let the holy live within Let the city rise from ashes Let the healing now begin
Build me a wall Not of fear, not of stone Build me a heart That can guard what is its own
If the gates are broken open Then the holy starts to fall Before the Mikdash burns There is a breach inside the wall
