“A Candle of Freedom, a Candle of Labor, or the Candle of Judah”: Lea Goldberg’s Jewish Holiday Poems for Children

This paper examines the Jewish holiday poems of Lea Goldberg, written for children during the 1930s and the 1940s and published in the Hebrew children’s newspaper Davar li-yeladim. It opens by examining the role of children’s literature and the appropriation of the Jewish holidays in the Zionist enterprise. Next, Hanukah is taken as a study case, reading Goldberg’s writing against the background of contemporary authors. This comparison sheds light on Goldberg’s distinct voice and approach in the children’s literature sphere during that period. Finally, a discussion of her place in children’s literature is offered in the context of her writings for adults, identifying a common agenda and a consistent stance in all her diverse writings.