Non-traditional Haggada. Kevutzat Medurot. 1943

Non-traditional Haggada. Kevutzat Medurot. 1943
Non-traditional, pre-kibbutz Haggada. Stencil print with illustrations. In 1939, the alumni of Kefar HaChoresh established "Kevutzat Medurot." The members of the group moved to Kefar Yechezkel for agricultural training and, on the 30th of October 1946, established Kibbutz Dovrat. This Haggada was printed by the group while they were undergoing training in 1943, before their group consolidated and became an independent kibbutz.
Many original texts have been integrated into the body of the Haggada. It opens with a note about the terribe European Holocaust: "During the times of war, destruction and decimation surrounds us, we have gathered to fulfill the commandemnt of the seder...in our generation they have come up to destroy us. They have uprooted Israel from its roots, they expel our brethren from their lands, murder them everywhere. The Jews of Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia have ceased to exist. Jewry of Eastern Europe is drowning in its blood. And even to the safe havens, the hands of evil have reached. The Jews of Scandanavia, Holland, France, and Greek are destroyed and killed. Millions were slaughtered. Communities that served as a source of Jewish life for hundreds of years have disappeared from the world..Dachau and Buchenwald, Lublin and Theresienstadt have become the emblem of European Jewry....Ships sailing and wandering on the seas without reaching a destination; the Patria, Atlantic and Struma  is there a more terrible symbol of the horrific threat to our lot in these days than these three names...?In face of these Jewish catastrophes it seems absurd to celebrate this holiday...and it seems like poking fun to celebrate the holiday of freedom...." It mentions Czerniakow and Zilberger as heroes who preferred to die than to send their brethen to death, and more. [Additional paragraphs at the end of the haggada relate to the Holocaust.]
Includes additional paragraphs regarding their longing for freedom, the pioneers "went before the nation and immigrated and built homes and established villages and cities and turned the desolation into a flourishing land....with bloody events and overcoming obstacles they built and continue building the ancient-new land. We are heroes!...Our hands on their own, our strong hands ...removed the heavy yoke from our necks..."
According to Steiner's list, the first Haggada of the Dovrat Kibbutz was published in 1949. This haggada does not appear on his list.
24 leaves. 16 cm. This haggada concludes with the words "Yisgadal V'Yiskadash Ha'am V'Ha'dam HaIvri" - an appropriate conclusion to the haggada. However, the copy in the National Library  features 29 leaves. It is possible that additional songs were added to the body of the haggada.
Fine-very fine condition.