Non-Traditional Passover Haggadah – Hashomer Hatza'ir in the Cyprus Detention Camps – Passover 1948

Non-Traditional Passover Haggadah – Hashomer Hatza'ir in the Cyprus Detention Camps – Passover 1948
Passover Haggadah "Published by the Kibbutzim of Hashomer Hatza'ir in the Cyprus exile" (Hebrew), Passover 1948.
Mimeographed typescript, illustrated.
The Haggadah deals mostly with the destruction of the Jewish people and the desire to take part in building, settling and defending Palestine. The Haggadah begins with Biblical verses and poem excerpts dealing with Passover as the Festival of Spring, this section ending with a poem by Jacob Fichman. The next section introduces adapted texts from the traditional Haggadah as well as biblical verses and passages of prose and poetry dealing with the state of the nation, the past destruction and the future revival; with the desire to reach Palestine, settle it and fight alongside its defenders; and with the vision of the Kibbutz and the movement.
A modified version of "Ma Nishtana" (leaf 3) deals with the state of the Yishuv in Palestine: "How is this night different from all the other nights / that we recall the Exodus from Egypt / while our brothers stand at the fortified positions against the enemy which is harassing and restricting us" (Hebrew); followed by several of Bialik's poems, including "Kumu Toei Midbar" ("Arise Ye Who Are Wandering in the Desert") and "Me'achorei HaSha'ar" ("Behind the Gate"). In the middle of the Haggadah, a non-paginated leaf deals with current events such as illegal immigration, the readers' situation as detainees in Cyprus and the upcoming War of Independence: "And after many generations of exile, light shines again from Mount Zion and sons from the Diaspora have begun flowing to it […] and they have been deported from the shores of the country to the island of exile […] yet the more they were tortured the more their rebellion increased […] and on this Passover night we have gathered hundreds of members of the Kibbutz movement of Hashomer Hatza'ir who are expecting the day of release from the siege and distress […] our heart swells during these stormy days and is given entirely to our defending brothers in 'Mishmar HaEmek' and on Mount Kastel" (Hebrew). Marginal illustration of a ship, a watchtower and a barbed wire fence – a running theme in this Haggadah. The Haggadah ends with the traditional version of "Chasal Siddur Pesach […] Pduyim LeZion BeRinah" (The Passover seder has been completed […] the redeemed joyfully to Zion).
The Haggadah is based mostly on the 1947 Passover Haggadah printed by The Jewish Holidays Committee of "HaKibbutz HaArtzi", presumably used as source by the author of this Haggadah; several changes were made to adjust it for the illegal immigrants detained in Cyprus, passages were added and others were omitted. Most of the illustrations are also taken from the 1947 Haggadah; lacking technical means, the illustrator copied them by hand.
[1] cover, 15 (i.e. 16) leaves, 16X21 cm. Good condition. Stains to margins of cover and leaves. Some creases. Pen writing on front cover. A few tears, restored with acid-free tape. Newly sewn together.
Not in OCLC.
Provenance: The Rimon Family Collection.