The Passover Haggadah
Books & Haggadot
There are more editions of the Haggadah, that small volume that provides the 'script' for the Seder ritual for Passover night, than any other book. There are Haggadot with dozens of commentaries (one has 238!), and Haggadot have been translated into hundreds of languages, and illustrated by almost every Jewish artist. Every year another dozen editions appear on the market. There are Haggadot for every religious denomination, every theme imaginable. Many illuminated manuscript Haggadot are now available in coffee table facsimile editions.
One wonderful tome on the subject: Haggadah and History: A Panorama in Facsimile of 5 Centuries of the Printed Haggadah from the Collections of Harvard University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America by Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Jewish Publication Society, 1997, ISBN 0827600461. This Haggadah includes hundreds of plates that illustrate the history of the printed Haggadah.
Also useful is the The Passover Anthology by Phillip Goodman. Part of the JPS series, it includes historical background material, stories and trivia.
See additional Passover resources reviewed here and here.
Many families insist on having the same Haggadah for each participant, (it makes calling out page numbers easier), and invest in a dozen copies that they use year after year. However, it is also possible to have each participant use a different Haggadah, which creates many more opportunities for participation, along the lines of: "in my Haggadah, it says something interesting here..."
One last note: Remember the word Haggadah means TELLING, not READING. The Haggadah was meant to be the script for an improvisational drama- where the Seder participants are the actors. No matter how wonderful your chosen Haggadah, the point of the evening is to leap OFF the page. Don't use a Haggadah that makes you feel constrained to use only its words. Make your Seder a night of telling and re-telling.
Which Haggadah to use- or to add to your existing Haggadot to enrich your Seder? Here are some suggestions:
The Mother of all Haggadot: The Moss Haggadah, written and illuminated by David Moss, Bet Alpha Editions, 1990, ISBN 0962447331. I am not sure I would use this to lead the Seder, but this Haggadah is the Haggadah to end all Haggadot. It has to be seen to be believed. The original is a one-of-a-kind Haggadah, created over a period of three years by artist David Moss (for philanthropists Richard and Beatrice Levy). It often captures and collapses the major Jewish rabbinic commentary and tradition and historical Haggadot editions into a single image or page of brilliant synthesis. Complete with paper cut-outs. A very limited edition copy is in the Vatican, the British Museum etc. You get the idea. Luckily, a more affordable coffee table edition has also been made available that includes an indispensable English commentary to the artwork and design process. Simply put: a work of genius.
The best leader's Haggadah: A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah, by David Dishon and Noam Zion, Shalom Hartman Institute, 1997, ISBN 0966474007. A leader's guide and handbook is also available (ISBN 0966474015). This is a fabulous resource that explains how to customize your seder for different levels and audiences. This is the best Haggadah I have seen to learn how to make your seder the best, most meaningful and interactive one ever. Highly recommended.
As an encore, Naom Zion has teamed up with Mishael Zion to create another fabulous resource: A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices. Following the success of 'A Different night' using the same well laid out, engaging format, here is a treasure of contemporary voices (Yehudah Amichai, Aviva Zornberg, Heschel, Levinas and Telushkin, to name a few at random along with chasidic insights and early Zionist writers) that will enrich any seder.
Highly recommended as well is the new 2 volume set: My People's Haggadah from Jewish lights (reviewed more fully here).
Historical Haggadah: A Feast of History: The Drama of Passover Through the Ages by Chaim Raphael (various editions). Reading as an English book (from left to right) a lavishly photographed volume with essays on the historical and archaelogical background. Opens the opposite way for a traditional Haggadah.
Colourful Haggadah: Polychrome Historical Haggadah by Rabbi Jacob Freedman. Freedman Liturgy Research Foundation, 1974. Illustrates the quilt like nature of the text by colour coding Bible, Mishnah, Talmudic passages (etc.).
Feminist Haggadah: The Telling by E.M. Broner and Naomi Nimrod, HarperCollins, 1994, and the San Diego Women's Haggadah 2nd Edition by Jane Zones, The Women's Institute for Continuing Jewish Education, 1986, ISBN 0960805451.
Chasidic Haggadah: The Chassidic Haggadah: An Anthology of Commentary and Stories for the Seder by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, Moznaim, 1988. If you would like to add short Chassidic sayings to enrich the seder, this Haggadah includes the commentaries of many Chassidic rabbis to the text.
Children's Haggadot
The Animated Haggadah by Rony Oren, Urim Publications, 1998, ISBN 9652225312, is based on the Video and CD-ROM of the same name, this Haggadah uses Claymation characters alongside English and Hebrew text. A Children's Haggadah by Howard Bogot and Robert Orkand, art by Devis Grebu, CCAR, 1994, ISBN 0881230596 features a simple text with beautiful and clever illustrations. Lastly, Professor Segal of the University of Calgary has created a marvellous rendering of the Haggadah in Dr. Seuss rhyme at his website. It is quite clever and very popular with kids, so much so that it is now beautifully illustrated and available in a hard cover book format as Uncle Eli's Special-For-Kids Most Fun Ever Under-The-Table Passover Haggadah by Eliezer Segal, art by Bonnie Gordon-Lucas, No Starch Press, 1999, ISBN 1886411271. Not particularly suitable for leading or using alone for the Seder, but highly recommended to add the occasional reading or as pre-Seder reading.
