Chanuka – Hymme ueberreicht von der Juedischen Gemeinde Shanghai anlaesslich iher Chanuka-Feier 1939 “Hanukkah Hymn Submitted by the Jewish Community in Shanghai for their 1939 Hanukkah Celebration, Kislev 5700” – Piyut “Ma’oz Tzur” for Hanukkah in Hebrew and German – Printed Page, Shanghai 1939.
It is interesting to note that the final stanza of the “Ma’oz Tzur” hymn, which opens with the words “חשוף זרוע קדשך וקרב קץ הישועה” – “Expose Your holy arm and bring near the end of redemption” and addresses G-d’s vengeance upon the “wicked nation” (“Vengeance for the blood of Your servants from the wicked nation”), was omitted from the version of the hymn, likely to avoid provoking the Chinese nation, which at that time was an ally of Nazi Germany. This was especially concerning since the omitted verse contained the phrase “Deheh Admon be’tzel Tzalmon, ” which could have been interpreted as a reference to either the Chinese nation with its red flag and communist government, or to the German nation with its swastika flag.
Size: 36×26 cm. Crease marks. Condition: Good.
