אֶרֶץ מַאְפֵּלְיָה , לֵב הַמַּאְפֵּלְיָה

ביטוי (אנגלית)

Land of darkness, heart of the gloom

הגדרה (אנגלית)

A place of darkness. By extension: a place of suffering and hopelessness. The heart of afflictions (Me'aflayah means 'darkness of God', similar to 'the dread of God').

("Generation, listen to the word of the Lord: Was I a wilderness to Israel, or a land of deep darkness? Why do my people say, 'We roam; we will come to you no more'?"—Jeremiah 2:31. And: "And in a land of darkness, for darkness I go; for me you will open the gates of the sky, and to my hollow heart beyond the mist, a new light, an eternal light will break through"—H.N. Bialik / To the Legend. And: "The chain of rocks broke apart around: Enveloped in darkness, the valleys blackened"—Shaul Tchernichovsky / Between the Straits)