Bidspirit auction | Siddur HaShalom, printed under the

Siddur HaShalom, printed under the Communist regime. Moscow, 1968. Siddur HaShalom, prayers for the entire year, edited by Rabbi Yehudah Leib Levin, published by the Jewish Community of Moscow. Moscow, 1968. The siddur includes “Divrei Chazal Al Ha'Shalom, ” a Hebrew–Russian alef-bet table and reading-aid text, prayers for the Yamim Noraim, the Passover Haggadah, Kaddish in Russian, Hebrew and Russian calendars for Rosh Chodesh and festivals for the years 1967–1971, a prayer for peace and for “the Government of the USSR, the protector of peace in all the world, ” and a prayer for the welfare of the Soviet government and the downfall of its enemies. Several explanatory Hebrew notes appear in the High Holiday prayers, including the surprising explanation to the piyut “Arzei HaLevanon” about the Ten Harugei Malchut: ”שמסרו נפשם על קדוש השם, והומתו על ידי ממשלת רומא העריצה. אחרי מרד בר כוכא גזרה מלכות רומא הרשעה על ישראל שלא ילמדו תורה ולא יקימו את מצוותיה, ועשרה החכמים האלה הקהילו קהילות ולמדו את התורה, וקימו את המצות בפרהסיא, ובזה היו מופת לאחיהם” Historical background: Under the Communist regime, which persecuted Jewish religious observance and Torah-observant Jews, this siddur was nevertheless printed, and synagogue services continued in Moscow as a means of deflecting international criticism and demonstrating that the USSR “allowed” Jewish religious freedom. 479 pages. Original binding loose; stains; tear and repair to title page; fair–good condition.