“Save us and deliver us… many troubles have surrounded us, please remove the enemy from upon us… bring an end to the blasts of war, and let each person return to his place in peace” – special prayer to be recited on Yom Kippur “Before Ne’ilah, 1942” – Holland, 1941. Rare.
A special prayer and plea for the salvation and deliverance of the People of Israel, composed in Nazi-occupied Holland to be recited before the Ne’ilah prayer on Yom Kippur of the year 5702 – (October 1, 1941), upon the opening of the Ark:
“…Save us and deliver us from the mire of the abyss, for the waters have come up to our soul. We have been given over to smiters, and our cheeks to those who pluck out the hair. Many troubles have surrounded us – please remove from us the enemy, plague, sword, and famine… Bring an end to the blasts of war, and let each person return to his place in peace. Set a limit to our exile and to our mourning. If we are lacking in merit, for the sake of Your Name, hasten our redemption. Amen.”
The special prayer was composed during the intensification of Nazi measures aimed at oppressing Dutch Jewry, in light of the worsening situation. In September 1941, all Jewish civil servants in the Netherlands were dismissed – including teachers, judges, clerks, and government employees. Jews were prohibited from working in certain businesses, from running independent enterprises, or from working with non-Jews. A policy of “Aryanization” was formulated and implemented during these months, which included the confiscation of Jewish property and its transfer to Dutch or German hands. Jews were banned from entering many public places – parks, theaters, cafés, libraries, cinemas, and more. In October 1941, all public schools were closed to Jews, who were forced to study in separate Jewish schools. Waves of assaults and humiliations by the police and the SS began, especially in large cities such as Amsterdam. Jewish detainees were held in initial detention camps (such as Schoorl) and deported to German concentration camps like Mauthausen and Buchenwald – even before the onset of systematic extermination. All of this is alluded to in the prayer before us. The months of September–October 1941 were, in effect, a transitional period from systematic civic and economic exclusion to complete isolation, concentration, and the early stages of open terror. The infrastructure of oppression had already been laid – and within a year would lead to mass deportations to the extermination camps. Many Jews still tried to cling to daily life or believed that “the worst” would not happen, but the signs were grave and unmistakable.
Rare, not listed in the National Library, nor in the WorldCat global library catalog.
[1] Leaf. 19×15 cm. Very good condition.
