Kibbutz Be'eri (Israel)

HAGADAH SHEL PESACH [FROM SITE OF 2023 HAMAS ATTACK] [KIBBUTZ HAGADA. PESAH PESSACH PESAKH PASSOVER HAGGADAH] הגדה של פסח

Be'eri [Beeri]: Hotsa'at Be'eri, 1950. Item #42661

1st edition. Original illustrated color paper wrappers, 8vo, [31] pages. All pages are illustrated with illustrations created specifically for this hagadah. 24 cm. In Hebrew. 1st edition of the Hagadah produced by the Kibbutz where Hamas killed 100 Israelis on October 7, 2023. Apparently several editions were produced between 1950-1981.
The cover depicts two muscle-bound shirtless men ripping their shackles off, a classic passover depiction using Zionist "New Jew" imagry showing the strength of the young Jewish state emerging from the Holocaust.
The front cover, as well as the inside illustrated pages, are identical to the later (1953) UToronto copy whose pages can be seen at https://archive.org/details/druck00148/page/n35/mode/2up, though our copy retains the original text which theirs has replaced on pages [15-16] and lacks their the tipped in colophon. The rear cover has also changed with their 1953 edition (compare our illustration to theirs).
Be'eri is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located in the north-western Negev desert near the eastern border with the Gaza Strip... During...the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, 100 people were killed." Jerry Seinfeld famously visited in December, following the attack to show support.
“Kibbutz Be'eri was established on 6 October 1946 as one of the 11 points in the Negev. It was located near Wadi Nahabir, a few kilometres south of Be'erot Yitzhak. Its founders were members of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed movement, who had been preparing in Maoz Haim, as well as some Hebrew scouts. It was named after Berl Katznelson, as Be'eri (Beeri) (a biblical name) was his pen name.
In 1947 Be'eri had a population of over 150. The early settlers engaged in land reclamation and tree planting. The group was enlarged by young Jews from Iraq who arrived by desert trek. The Jewish National Fund reported that for months the kibbutz was completely isolated, 'but the settlers held their ground until the liberation of the Negev in October 1948.'
After Israeli independence, the kibbutz moved three kilometres southeast to its present location. It is considered one of Israel's wealthiest kibbutzim" (Wikipedia).
Commemorating members of Kibbutz Be’eri who were killed in the second intifadah, Miriam Holtzman reflected on the kibbutz and it’s hagadah:
“In 1950, the members and members of Kibbutz Be’eri produced the Hagadah for Passover. Less than two years after the end of the War of Independence, in which they paid a terrible price for the fulfillment of their life's vision - the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the members of the kibbutz designed holiday content relevant to their values and lifestyles. In those years, the kibbutz Hagadot fulfilled the mitzvah ‘A person must see himself as if he had come out of Egypt’ by incorporating the history of the nation of Israel at that time.
The Hagadah told the story of exile, immigration, pioneers, fighting and settlement in the areas of the book as a direct continuation of the struggle of the Israelites for freedom and as part of their journey back to the Land of Israel .In contrast to the traditional Hagadah, the Kibbutz Hagadahs put a deep emphasis not only on leaving the slavery of Egypt but also on arriving in the Promised Land and settling in it.
In those days of the beginning of the state, the kibbutz Seder night also included content that today we incorporate into the Holocaust Day, Remembrance Day and Independence Day ceremonies. The Kibbutz Hagadah combined the local and national story with passages from the traditional Hagadah, verses from the Bible, passages of Zionist thought and self-creation - both in painting and writing. The War of Independence became, in Be’eri's Hagadah, another chapter in the story of the Exodus from Egypt….
In the chapter ‘We will remember' the victims of the Holocaust and the refugees who fell on their way to Israel are mentioned, alongside those who fell in the War of Liberation. The message is one of remembrance but also of mission:
'And let us not forget, because it was only because of them and because of the whole multitude of the House of Israel that we have come to this day, and because it was for their sake and for the sake of the rest of Israel that we are at peace now…..Prepare yourselves for the enemies of all generations - for a great evil.'
The emphasis in remembrance is on finding meaning and belief in the righteousness of the path, in the face of the paralyzing pain. A topical reading of Be’eri's passages of the Hagadah places the reality we face in a historical context - not a single point but a long and continuous line of our existence in this land.
The Hagadah ends with the return of Zion, and includes verses such as 'Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, there is a reward for your work and return from the land of the enemy' as well as 'while your son is built and built, virgin of Israel, there is hope for your future, and sons return to their borders'....
The Hagadah ends with a description of Ari's [who was killed in the 2nd Intifadah] life in that year. It is impossible not to hear the call carried to us from the main day:
'Come out and see our work in the first year of our sabbath at Beri Hadasha….Let us plow and sow, and let the blessings of God visit our fields. We planted fruit trees and vines and increased the herds of cattle and more priests and priests were added to our dwelling, and we are only at the beginning of the journey. There is still a lot of need and a lot of longing to improve our home from the inside.
Indeed, today is a joyous holiday for us. [...] The silence and the peace are with us and now, because we have yet to stand the test and we have yet to be girdled, we have vowed to stand on the soul of our work. [...] And with anxious anticipation we wait for the day when we will give our hands to the effort of the great liberation, here at our rejected point, we will rush to the redemption of the people and the world.'” (www.chagim.org.il)
"No group… has taken the reinterpretation of the traditional Haggadah more seriously than the kibbutz movement, which over the years has produced an estimated 1,000 different versions. Taken together, these Haggadot offer a fascinating perspective on the still evolving social movement. Of all Jewish texts, the Haggadah had special significance for the early kibbutz pioneers because it dealt with concepts important to their ideology: national freedom and socialist ideals… The staggering number of kibbutz Haggadot can be attributed to the fact that few were actually printed; most were simply stenciled in small numbers to be used in a particular year by a particular kibbutz. It was only later that official kibbutz federations published [a] standard version" (Carol Novis, in The Forward).
SUBJECT(S): Kibbutz haggadot. Haggadot -- Texts. Passover -- Liturgy -- Texts. Haggadah (Non-traditional) Secular haggadot. Pa^que -- Liturgie -- Textes. OCLC: 1030800415. OCLC lists only 2 institutions with holdings for any of editions (NLI–several editions, and Stanford–1951), as well as UToronto (1953). Light rubbing to cover, first page toned, Very Good Condition. Rare and powerful. (HAG-26-4K-VV).

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