Zion, Will You Not Ask? – A Tisha B’Av Journey through Exile, Longing, and Responsibility

עברית

✡️ Zion, Will You Not Ask?

Longing, Captivity, and the Legacy of Tisha B’Av

🎶 Background

Associated with the tragedy of Tisha B’Av — the long Jewish exile — and its grand Zionist “correction” with the emergence of the State of Israel, the same song has since been drafted to serve a variety of other “Jewish prisoners”.

WON’T YOU ASK AFTER, O ZION, THE WEAL OF YOUR CAPTIVESOR ZION, SHALL YOU NOT BESEECH THE WELFARE OF YOUR PRISONERS?

Song title in Hebrew:צִיּוֹן, הֲלֹא תִשְׁאֲלִי לִשְׁלוֹם אֲסִירַיִךְ?Pronunciation: Tzion, halo tish-a-li lishlom asira’ich

🎵 The Song’s Meaning

Rabbi Yehuda Halevi’s poem is a song of love and longing for his beloved soul — the Land of Israel.As a devoted and faithful lover, he faces the ups and downs of a whirlwind of heavy feelings: betrayal, difficulty dealing with the loss of his lover’s youth, and the supposed loss of her unique qualities.

In contrast to the speaker’s emotional storm, the collective voice in the poem expresses unwavering devotion to Zion. They are "prisoners of love." The speaker ultimately draws strength from their steadfastness and joins them in hopeful waiting.

🔷 Lesson Plan Summary

Zion, Will You Not Ask?

Between ancient poetry and a contemporary struggle

This interdisciplinary lesson weaves together literature, history, Jewish identity, and civic values through the poem “Zion, will you not ask about the welfare of your captives?” by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi.

The lesson draws a powerful historical and emotional line connecting three pivotal moments in Jewish experience:

• Rabbi Yehuda Halevi and medieval Sephardic Jewry

• Prisoners of Zion in the Soviet Union

• The hostages abducted on October 7, 2023

The lesson is designed for 60–90 minutes (or two sessions), and is suitable for middle school and high school students in Jewish or general educational frameworks.

🎯 Lesson Objectives

• Deepen understanding of Yehuda Halevi’s poem

• Trace a thread of Jewish longing, exile, and spiritual resistance

• Connect poetic yearning with the moral and civic responsibility to stand up for captives and the oppressed

• Encourage personal reflection on identity, belonging, and solidarity

  
  

🧩 Lesson Structure

🔹 Part 1: Opening – What does Zion mean to you? (10 min)

Prompt for reflection or discussion:

What comes to mind when you hear the word Zion?

🎵 Listen to a musical version of the poem(e.g., Ruhama Raz or a tribute performance)

📖 Read the opening line:

“Zion, will you not ask about the welfare of your captives?”Who is speaking — and to whom? Why is there pain in the question?

🔹 Part 2: Exploring the Poem – Between Heaven and Earth (20–25 min)

Read selected stanzas together and explore the emotional arc:

1. Sense of Betrayal – Zion is silent, the speaker is in pain

2. Zion Above – holiness, divine light, spiritual purity

3. Zion Below – destruction, exile, collapse

4. Return to Hope – renewed belief in Zion’s rebirth

📍 Discussion questions:

• Why does the speaker feel betrayed by Zion?

• How does his love evolve throughout the poem?

• What’s the difference between “Zion of Heaven” and “Zion in history”?

🔹 Part 3: Three Generations – Three Prisoners of Zion (20 min)

1. Yehuda Halevi (Spain, 12th century)

Poet, physician, and philosopher who left Spain in search of Zion.This poem was written in exile, filled with yearning.

2. Soviet Prisoners of Zion (20th century)

Jews imprisoned for their identity or desire to make aliyah.

“The dream of Zion became a prison – but the prison was full of hope.”

3. Hostages in Gaza (21st century)

On October 7, 2023, civilians and soldiers were kidnapped.The poem’s opening line has been revived in public protests.

📍 Discussion:

• What unites these three stories?

• Why is it important to remember both past and present captives?

• Is longing for a homeland only religious — or also deeply human?

🔹 Part 4: Moral and Civic Discussion (15–20 min)

Core question:

Why do we have a moral obligation to rescue our captives?

✡️ Key ideas:

• Jewish tradition: Pidyon shvuyim is a supreme mitzvah (Maimonides)

• Collective responsibility: No community should abandon its own

• Humanist ethics: We don’t leave the wounded or the missing behind

• National trust: Caring for captives builds social resilience

• Historical memory: Zionism emerged to reverse the neglect of exile

• Moral message: How we treat captives reflects our values

📍 Follow-up question:

Is there a limit to the price we should pay? Where is the moral line?

🔹 Part 5: Creative Closure / Student Projects

Choose one:

✍️ Creative writing –Write a letter from today to Yehuda Halevi:

“Zion now asks about her captives – but we must also ask ourselves…”

🎨 Poster or visual art –Quote from the poem, image of a prisoner of Zion, message to the next generation.

🎭 Mini-play –Dialogue between Yehuda Halevi, a Soviet prisoner, and a family member of a 2023 hostage.

✡️ Closing Message

Yehuda Halevi never heard of the Soviet Union or the Gaza border.But he knew longing, exile, and what it means to be a forgotten prisoner of hope.

His voice speaks to us today — as students, citizens, and Jews:To ask, to care, to remember, and to act.Because in every generation, we must ask once more, in the name of Zion:“Will you not ask about the welfare of your captives?”

LINKS Short version (pray like) Longer version Full Lyrics in English Full lyrics in Hebrew