5. Ghetto — the poem was written before the War and the establishment of the ghetto in Vilna. The concept is used here as a metaphor for confined Jewish existence, based on the Medieval ghettos.

6. Shul-yard — the complex of courtyards in Vilna containing dozens of synagogues and prayer houses, including the "Gaon Shul." The Gaon of Vilna, Rabbi Eliahu, lived in the eighteenth century.