מָעוֹז צוּר and עַל הַנִּסִּים
Saturday, November 30th, 2013 06:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lethargic_manמָעוֹז צוּר, the hymn we sing after we light the Chanukah candles, relates the Jews' escape from persecution and destruction down through the ages. In pre-modern times, Jews were always a minority, often persecuted, and the only way they could get revenge was through pen and ink. The last verse of מָעוֹז צוּר calls for such revenge; when I was growing up the commonly held thought is that this verse was not original, and some siddurim, including the Singer's Prayerbook, did not print it, and many people do not sing it. (Recently, I've seen suggestions it may be original after all.)
However, that's not the only place in מָעוֹז צוּר where the text calls for revenge. The first verse refers to לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ מִצָּר הַמְּנַבֵּחַ "the time you shall prepare the slaughter of the baying foe." I learned in the Limmud handbook last year that the former Chief Rabbi, Dr Joseph Herman Hertz, suggested changing the words to לְעֵת תַּשְׁבִּית מַטְבֵּחַ וְצָר הַמְּנַבֵּחַ "the time you shall halt the slaughter and the baying of the foe"; I have been using these words ever since. After all, מָעוֹז צוּר is not part of the formal prayer liturgy; changing the words doesn't suffer from any of the problems of doing so in the formal prayer liturgy, so why should we not?
עַל הַנִּסִּים, by contrast, is part of the prayer liturgy (though of lesser importance in this regard), but perpetuates a falsehood. It refers to Mattithyāhu ben Yoḥānān the High Priest. But we know that neither Mattithyāhu nor Yoḥānān his father was High Priest, or could even have been High Priest: The High Priests were, until just a few years beforehand, always transmitted patrilineally, and always came from מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְדַעְיָה, the second order of the priests, named after their ancestor Yəda`iāh. However, the Hasmoneans were descended from מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְהוֹיָרִיב, the first order, named after their ancestor Yəhoyāriv. They weren't entitled to the High Priesthood; they took it for themselves in breach of tradition, but not until long after the death of Mattithyāhu (who died only one year into the struggle for independence). By referring to him as High Priest, we're perpetuating Hasmonean propaganda.
I see the Reform siddur refers to him just as "priest", not "High Priest", and I think I shall do so myself in future.
I've already blogged once about changing the words in the liturgy; I've had a second post swirling around in me for some time about where I personally depart from the traditional wording; I'll write it up if people are interested in reading it. So, are you?
However, that's not the only place in מָעוֹז צוּר where the text calls for revenge. The first verse refers to לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּחַ מִצָּר הַמְּנַבֵּחַ "the time you shall prepare the slaughter of the baying foe." I learned in the Limmud handbook last year that the former Chief Rabbi, Dr Joseph Herman Hertz, suggested changing the words to לְעֵת תַּשְׁבִּית מַטְבֵּחַ וְצָר הַמְּנַבֵּחַ "the time you shall halt the slaughter and the baying of the foe"; I have been using these words ever since. After all, מָעוֹז צוּר is not part of the formal prayer liturgy; changing the words doesn't suffer from any of the problems of doing so in the formal prayer liturgy, so why should we not?
עַל הַנִּסִּים, by contrast, is part of the prayer liturgy (though of lesser importance in this regard), but perpetuates a falsehood. It refers to Mattithyāhu ben Yoḥānān the High Priest. But we know that neither Mattithyāhu nor Yoḥānān his father was High Priest, or could even have been High Priest: The High Priests were, until just a few years beforehand, always transmitted patrilineally, and always came from מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְדַעְיָה, the second order of the priests, named after their ancestor Yəda`iāh. However, the Hasmoneans were descended from מִשְׁמֶרֶת יְהוֹיָרִיב, the first order, named after their ancestor Yəhoyāriv. They weren't entitled to the High Priesthood; they took it for themselves in breach of tradition, but not until long after the death of Mattithyāhu (who died only one year into the struggle for independence). By referring to him as High Priest, we're perpetuating Hasmonean propaganda.
I see the Reform siddur refers to him just as "priest", not "High Priest", and I think I shall do so myself in future.
I've already blogged once about changing the words in the liturgy; I've had a second post swirling around in me for some time about where I personally depart from the traditional wording; I'll write it up if people are interested in reading it. So, are you?
