God of Vengeance

God of Vengeance
Written bySholem Asch
Date premieredMarch 19, 1907
Place premieredDeutsches Theater
Original languageYiddish
SubjectA Jewish brothel owner who attempts to become respectable by commissioning a Torah scroll and marrying off his daughter to a yeshiva student.
GenreDrama

God of Vengeance (Yiddish: גאָט פֿון נעקאָמע, 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. 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.