Non-Traditional Haggadah – Second Jewish Battalion – Palestine, 1943

Non-Traditional Haggadah – Second Jewish Battalion – Palestine, 1943
Passover Haggadah, Company 5, Second Jewish Battalion. [Palestine], 1943.
The haggadah contains passages from the original text alongside many passages about the war, the desperate state of the Jewish people and mourning for the fallen and murdered, alongside determination to fight and the hope for resurrection and revenge in the future: "Tonight we shall celebrate, in bitter mourning… this holiday… the joy of the season of freedom is tonight muted and restrained, for the reaper is upon the house of Israel. […] And we believe that we can shed the Egyptian siege that has surrounded us… we are prepared for the great burden that the fate of Israel shall place upon us". The haggadah contains some illustrations, mostly of the text's traditional subjects.
The Second Jewish Battalion, acting as part of the Palestine regiment, was created in 1942 and consisted of five companies. At first its soldiers guarded military facilities in Haifa and the vicinity. In July 1943 they were sent to Libya where they served until 1944, when the battalion joined the other Palestine battalions to form the Jewish Brigade.
[1], 25 leaves (the pagination skips page 17), 16.5X21 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears and open tears on several leaves, reinforced with adhesive tape. Numerous creases and stains. Bound with string, with a nylon cover (the staples have been removed).
Not in NLI. Not in Aviram Paz's book, "Exodus from Egypt in Days of Yore, in Recent Times, Selection of Rare Passover Haggadahs from the 1940s…" (Kibbutz Dalia, 2015).
Provenance: Rimon Family Collection.