Maoz Tzur
E53925
Maoz Tzur is a traditional Jewish liturgical hymn sung after lighting the Hanukkah candles, praising divine deliverance from historical enemies.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Maoz Tzur Yeshuati | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Jewish liturgical hymn
ⓘ
piyyut ⓘ |
| acrosticFeature | first letters of stanzas form the name Mordechai ⓘ |
| associatedConcept |
Hanukkah candle-lighting ritual
ⓘ
Jewish collective memory ⓘ |
| associatedHoliday | Hanukkah ⓘ |
| attributedAuthor | Mordechai (medieval poet, uncertain identification) ⓘ |
| culturalRole |
central Hanukkah song in Ashkenazi tradition
ⓘ
symbol of Jewish resilience ⓘ |
| firstLineTranslation | O Fortress, Rock of my salvation ⓘ |
| genre | liturgical poetry ⓘ |
| includedIn |
Jewish hymnals
ⓘ
many Hanukkah prayer books ⓘ |
| influenced | later Hanukkah songs and compositions ⓘ |
| language | Hebrew ⓘ |
| liturgicalContext |
home ritual
ⓘ
synagogue service ⓘ |
| liturgicalCustom |
sung by Ashkenazi Jews
ⓘ
sung by many Sephardi communities (in various melodies) ⓘ |
| liturgicalStatus | non-obligatory hymn ⓘ |
| melody | traditional Ashkenazi tune ⓘ |
| melodyUsage | has multiple traditional melodies ⓘ |
| mentions |
Babylonian exile
ⓘ
Egyptian bondage (allusively) ⓘ Haman and Purim story (allusively) ⓘ Hasmonean victory ⓘ Syrian-Greek oppression ⓘ destruction of the Temple (allusively) ⓘ |
| openingWords |
Maoz Tzur
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Maoz Tzur Yeshuati
|
| performancePractice |
often sung by entire family
ⓘ
sometimes accompanied by musical instruments outside of strict halachic contexts ⓘ |
| performedAfter | lighting of Hanukkah candles ⓘ |
| probableCenturyOfComposition | 13th century ⓘ |
| probablePlaceOfComposition |
Ashkenazi Jews
ⓘ
surface form:
Ashkenaz (German lands)
|
| religiousFunction |
commemoration of historical salvations
ⓘ
expression of trust in future redemption ⓘ |
| religiousTradition | Judaism ⓘ |
| structure | multiple stanzas ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
historical analysis of Jewish persecutions
ⓘ
liturgical scholarship ⓘ musicological studies ⓘ |
| textualVariant |
some communities modify politically sensitive lines
ⓘ
some communities omit later stanzas ⓘ |
| theme |
Jewish historical persecutions
ⓘ
divine deliverance ⓘ praise of God ⓘ salvation from enemies ⓘ |
| timeOfComposition | medieval period ⓘ |
| titleTranslation | Stronghold of My Salvation ⓘ |
| usedDuring | Hanukkah ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Maoz Tzur Yeshuati