Zionides () are ''

piyyut A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...

im'' which express the longing of the Jewish nation to see the hill of Zion and the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

shine again in all their former glory. They date back to the time immediately after the destruction of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

. Since that period the poets and singers of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

have devoted their best talent to painting in the most brilliant colors the ancient glories of Zion. By far the greater number of these songs unite in voicing a heartfelt desire to see the nation, the city of Jerusalem,

Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...

, and the Temple restored to their former splendor.

Biblical songs

The oldest song of Zion in Jewish literature was written around the fifth century BCE, and is a lamentation that the enemy compels Israel to live on foreign soil; this is the celebrated

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

137:1-3. A similar Zionide of the same period is Psalm 86; in it the poet, full of hope, sings of the day when the Captivity shall be over and the joyfully returning exiles shall sing a new song of Zion. The fifth chapter of Lamentations is an elegy ending with a desire for deliverance.

Middle Ages

During the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Zionides from the pens of the greatest poets formed the chief comfort and consolation of the people. As early as the time of

Ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah (, ; , ) was an 11th-century Jewish poet and philosopher in the Neo-Platonic tradition in Al-Andalus. He published over a hundred poems, as well as works of biblical exegesis, philosophy, ethics and satire ...

(11th century) songs of Zion were incorporated in the liturgy, partly as lamentations for

Tisha B'Av Tisha B'Av ( ; , ) is an annual fast day in Judaism. A commemoration of a number of disasters in Jewish history, primarily the destruction of both Solomon's Temple by the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the Second Temple by the Roman Empire in Jerusal ...

and partly as tefillot and ''piyyutim''. Notable lamentations for Zion which are sung on Tisha B'Av include: a song beginning with the words ' and giving a vivid description of the destruction of Zion; the well-known song which begins with the words ', and in which

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

and

try to excel each other in the description of the misfortune which has fallen upon them; and, above all, the '' Eli Tzion'' with its refrain: ::Zion and her cities wail like a woman in childbirth, and like a virgin clothed in sackcloth for the man of her youthful choice. Also notable are several strophes of the song ''Lekhah Dodi'', which is sung in the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...

eve service. The most important of Ibn Gabirol's Zionides are the poem beginning with the words: ::Send a prince to the condemned people which is scattered hither and thither and that beginning: ::Turn thy face, O God, to the conquered, who is delivered up into the hand of Babel and of Seir.

Judah ha-Levi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of which ...

(1140) was the author of the Zionide beginning. Among his most prominent Zion poems is ''Tziyyon ha-lo tishali'' (): ::Zion, wilt thou not send a greeting to thy captives, Who greet thee as the remnant of thy flocks? From West to East, from North to South, a greeting, From far and near, take thou on all sides. A greeting sends the captive of desire, who sheds his tears Like dew on Hermon; would they might fall on thy hills. Besides this song, which has been translated into nearly all European languages in prose and in verse, Judah wrote several shorter songs, chief of which are ''Libi baMizrah'' ''(''; ''"My heart is in the East, although I am at the end of the West")'' and ::Sigh, O Jerusalem; and shed thy tears, O Zion.

Various authors

Among other medieval writers of this class may be mentioned Abraham ibn Ezra, who composed the Zionide ''("O God, who art enthroned in the East, appease the mourning dove")'';

Judah al-Ḥarizi Yehuda Alharizi, also Judah ben Solomon Harizi or al-Harizi (, ), was a rabbi, translator, poet, and traveler active in al-Andalus (mid-12th century Toledo, Spain? – 1225 in Aleppo, Ayyubid Syria). He was supported by wealthy patrons, to who ...

(13th century), author of the song ("Peace be to the city of Salem

"); and

Israel Najara Israel ben Moses Najara (; ; – ) was a prolific Jewish liturgy, liturgical poet, preacher, Biblical commentator, kabbalist (although this is disputed), and rabbi in Gaza City, Gaza. Biography The rabbinic Najara family was originally fro ...

(16th century), who wrote the song ''("May the flower of salvation bloom like a palm")''. In more modern times

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early life Luzzatto was born ...

wrote: ::''("My heart, my heart is full of pain; see, my grief is an ancient one")''; Equally well known is Joseph Almanzi's ::''("From all corners comes rejoicing on the day of celebration to God, who is good")''. The most prominent Hebrew poets have written Zionides, among the number being M. S. Rabener, Micah Levisohn,

Judah Loeb Gordon Judah Leib Gordon (, ; December 7, 1830 – September 16, 1892), also known as Leon Gordon, was among the most important Hebrew poets of the Haskalah. Biography Gordon was born to well-to-do Jewish parents who owned a hotel in Vilnius. As a p ...

, S. Mandelkern, M. M. Dolitzky, and N. H. Imber. Countless songs have been produced under the influence of Zionism: of these may be mentioned the song adopted by all the Zionists of the world as their national song, and beginning with the words "There, where a slender cedar kisses the clouds"; the song of the academic society Kadimah in Austria, "Knowest thou whence freedom comes"?; the song of the united Zionists, "Sluchajcie bracia gueśni tij"; and "Hatikva" (Hope), composed by N. H. Imber, which has the refrain: ::''("Our hope has not yet gone, the old hope to return to the land of our fathers, to the city where David lived")''.

Bibliography

* ''Kinnor Tziyyon'', Warsaw, 1900 (collection of all the Zionides from the oldest times to the present day ebr. * ''Yevreiskyie Motivy'', Grodno, 1900 *

Heinrich Loewe Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

, ''Liederbuch für Jüdische Vereine'',

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, 1898 *

Jacobs Jacobs may refer to: Businesses and organisations *Jacob's, a brand name for several lines of biscuits and crackers in Ireland and the UK * Jacobs (coffee), a German brand of coffee * Jacobs Solutions, an American international technical professi ...

, ''Jewish Ideals'', p. 131

References

*{{JewishEncyclopedia, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=131&letter=Z, article=Zionides, author=

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian-born folklorist, literary critic and historian who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Born in Sydney to a Jewish family, his work went on to popula ...

and Schulim Ochser Jewish liturgical poems Hebrew language Zionism

Biblical songs

Middle Ages

Various authors

See also

Bibliography

References