Chaos Declares, ‘Let There Be Balagan!’
When he was asked if there were Hebrew words that he admired
because they have no counterpart in English, Etgar Keret
suggested balagan, denoting chaos that’s inspired.
Like tohu vohu, it has philologically much merit,
despite lack of deficiencies appearing to be quite absurd,
though from its DNA emerges what is right,
God’s building block when He created from this word
its bright antithesis, exclaiming loud: “Let there be light!”
It’s a collective noun that’s plural, which made light effective,
prevented by lack of deficiencies from being defective.
Etgar Keret’s book Suddenly, A Knock on the Door was reviewed by Abby Margulies in The Tablet, 3/29/12:
Etgar Keret likes to recall a dinner party when someone posed the question, “Are there any Hebrew words without an English equivalent?” The word that came to Keret’s mind was “balagan,” a word that translates into English as “total chaos,” but in Hebrew takes on a different meaning: a chaos that is overwhelming, amusing, even inspired. Balagan is a crowded outdoor market two hours before the stores close for Shabbat, an all-night beachside rave, or the Jerusalem bus station teeming with people in the late afternoon. It is a word that is more Israeli than it is Hebrew, and though there is a rough English translation, there is no true American equivalent.
Israel operates under the theory of trickle-down chaos. Order is undermined by random acts of terrorism and the arbitrary deaths of the very young. The government responds to the uncertainty with rigid internal structure: Teenagers don uniforms and accept guns when they turn 18, and checkpoints dot the highways. But the government cannot prevent terrorism or protect the teenagers they outfit with guns, so Israelis remain governed by a fear of the unknown. Unable to control their surroundings, they adapt, responding by being less concerned with the usual norms. Students and teachers strike at will, grocery store lines beg for a new word to describe disorder, and first-grade classrooms are a riotous mass of children, crayons, and noise. Chaos creeps into every aspect of Israeli life.
In 1 Sam. 12:21 Samuel tells the Israelites:
וְלֹ֖א תָּס֑וּרוּ כִּ֣י ׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י הַתֹּ֗הוּ אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹֽא־יוֹעִ֛ילוּ וְלֹ֥א יַצִּ֖ילוּ כִּי־תֹ֥הוּ הֵֽמָּה׃
Do not turn away to follow hatohu, the void, which can neither profit nor save, but tohu heymah, are worthless things.
