| God of Vengeance | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Sholem Asch |
| Date premiered | March 19, 1907 |
| Place premiered | Deutsches Theater |
| Original language | Yiddish |
| Subject | A Jewish brothel owner who attempts to become respectable by commissioning a Torah scroll and marrying off his daughter to a yeshiva student. |
| Genre | Drama |
God of Vengeance (Yiddish: Got fun nekome) is a 1906 play by Sholem Asch. It is about a Jewish brothel owner who attempts to become respectable by commissioning a Torah Scroll and marrying off his daughter to a yeshiva student.
Set in a brothel, the play explores themes of religious hypocrisy and morality. The play is notable for its progressive portrayal of a lesbian relationship, which was the first lesbian kiss on an American stage.[1] I. L. Peretz famously said of the play after reading it: "Burn it, Asch, burn it!" Instead, Asch went to Berlin and pitched it to director Max Reinhardt and actor Rudolph Schildkraut, who produced it at the Deutsches Theater.[2]