hither and thither / to and fro

Going back and forth. Here and there.

("And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him: 'Build thee a house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and do not go out thence hither and thither.'" - I Kings 2:36 (David to Shimei ben Gera), and also: "Little by little, as you stray hither and thither / you shall suddenly perish in terrifying depths / and no one will seek your blood from their hands" - Yedaya HaPenini (13th century) / The world is a stormy sea, and also: "Once, on the eve of the Sabbath, as evening approached, the Baal Shem Tov ran hither and thither, murmuring with his lips" - S.Y. Agnon / Tales of the Baal Shem Tov, Kabbalat Shabbat, and also: "And it came to pass, when Rabbi Gershon entered the inner Cave of Machpelah, he went hither and thither, seeking the graves of the Patriarchs of the world" - S.Y. Agnon / Tales of the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Gershon of Kitov and Or HaChayim, and also: "At night, at night, hither and thither / wanders the shadow of King Saul" - Shaul Tchernichovsky / On the Ruins of Beit Shean)

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