O, ir kleyne likhtelekh [O, You Little Candles]

Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, celebrates the Maccabees’ victory against the invading Syrians. In rededicating the Temple, which had been defaced by the Syrians, one day’s lamp oil miraculously burned for eight days, commemorated since by lighting candles on each of the eight days. Lituanian-born Morris Rosenfeld (1862-1923) wrote poetry from the age of 15, which he published in socialist and anarchist Yiddish periodicals, earning a living as a sweatshop tailor and a reputation as a sweatshop bard. He emigrated to London in 1882 and New York in 1886, but it wasn’t until 1898, when his work appeared in English translation, that he became well known. In his O, ir kleyne likhtelekh (O, You Little Candles) the Chanukah candles evoke a bittersweet contrast between the Chanukah story and the plight of Jews in the Russia of Czar Alexander III:

O, you little candles: you tell tales, endless stories. You tell about bloody battles, heroism, and courage: wonders of once upon a time. When I see you sparkling, a vision comes twinkling; an old dream talks. “Jew you have fought once, you won once. Ah, one can hardly believe it.” O, you little candles: your stories awaken my pain. Deep in the heart, something stirs and asks, through tears, “What is going to happen now?” [Translation by Miriam Goldberg]