6. Poems by Yehuda HaLevi

Excerpts from two poems by Yehuda HaLevi (c. 1075-1141), one of the most significant Jewish poets and philosophers, can be found engraved into wooden planks inside the sukkah. Considered a “proto-Zionist” by biographer Hillel Halkin, HaLevi wrote from medieval Spain about the deep connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, where he would venture in the last year of his life and find his final resting place. The words on the front and back walls inside the sukkah read:  

“Zion, do you not ask about the wellbeing of your captives? Those of your flock that ensue thy peace? And Peace from him that in captivity longs for you, and cries tears like Hermon's dew, and years to shed them on your hills.”

“My heart is in the east, yet I am at the edge of the west. How can I taste the food I eat? How can it give me pleasure? ”

In addition to reading the inscriptions, HaLevi’s two poems can also be heard in the accompanying soundscape thanks to archival audio recordings provided by the National Library of Israel.

These poems ground the sukkah in centuries of Jewish longing for the land of Israel and a fervent wish to liberate Jews trapped in both physical and spiritual captivity, offering visitors a moment of reflection on the continuing need for resilience through words that have transcended generations and still echo powerfully today.