This is “Chanukah” a free or interpretive rhyming English translation of Maoz Tsur, a 13th century piyyut attributed to Mordecai ben Yitsḥak haLevi (based on his acrostic signature). Employing the same rhyme scheme as the “Star Spangled Banner,” the anonymous translator implicitly suggests its proud usage as a patriotic hymn for American Jewry of the United States on Ḥanukkah. At the time, Zionism as a political force was still in its relative infancy and American rabbis were explicitly referring to the United States as a new Canaan. In conjunction with the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the United States had just hosted the World’s Parliament of Religions — and representatives of Judaism were treated on par with that of every other representative. Jews worldwide were looking to the United States as a golden medinah amidst the shocking and persistent anti-Jewish violence in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. At a time when the late 18th century Enlightenment promise of Emancipation and Religious Freedom remained unfulfilled in most places, for a generation yearning to realize Jewish safety amidst some measure of national pride, this use of Maoz Tsur compares with the adoption of Eugène Pottier’s “The Internationale” (1871), Naphtali Herz Imber’s “Hatiḳvah” (1878), and Ḥayyim Naḥman Bialik’s “The People’s Blessing” (a/k/a Teḥezaqnah, 1894) as anthems to carry forward a vision of the end of Exile. –Aharon Varady

Source

Chanukah (The Hebrew Standard, 8 December 1893), p. 1 col. 1

“מָעוֹז צוּר | Maoz Tsur in a rhyming English translation (1893)” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.

Isaac Gantwerk Mayer (transcription & naqdanut)

From a family of musicians, Isaac Gantwerk Mayer believes that creative art is one of the most powerful ways to get in touch with the divine. He composes music and poetry in Hebrew and English. (He also translates and authors his own original works.) Isaac runs a Jewish music transcription service, which will transcribe and set any Jewish music in any language, recorded or written. Contact his service on Facebook or via his music blog.

Unknown Translator(s)

Sometimes the best we can do in attributing a historical work is to indicate the period and place it was written, the first prayer book it may have been printed in, or the archival collection in which the manuscript was found. We invite the public to help to attribute all works to their original composers. If you know something not mentioned in the commentary offered, please let us know!

Mordecai ben Yitsḥok ha-Levi

Mordechai Ben Yitsḥak haLevy was a 13th century rabbi and liturgical poet who emigrated from Iraq to Mainz in Germany. There, hiding in the Jewish quarter with the rest of the Jewish community of Mainz, he witnessed the terrible massacres of the Crusaders. Authorship of the popular piyyut for Ḥanukkah, Maoz Tsur, is often attributed to him on the basis of the acrostic, מרדכי found in it.

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Chanukah (The Hebrew Standard, 8 December 1893), p. 1 col. 1

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17