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Passover Haggadah
The Haggadah shel Pesach (Hebrew, Passover
Story) is the story of the Israelites' flight from Egypt
under their
leader Moses. Read during each seder, it is not only the
description of
the Jews' most important escape from captivity to freedom,
but also
remains a living link between Biblical times and the
present.
Reading the Haggadah aloud together-along with the
age-old order of
prayers, blessings, and eating of traditional dishes-is
meant to enable
each family to understand and reenact the story of the
Exodus for
themselves. The religious significance of this text comes
from the
commandment in the Bible that the history of this holiday
should be
told: "On that day tell your son, 'I do this because of what
the Lord
did for me when I came out of Egypt.'"(Exodus 13:8)
The Haggadah is comprised of extensive passages from the
Book of
Exodus, as well as psalms, rabbinical sermons, blessings of
the matzoth
and charoset (a spread made of apples, nuts, honey and
wine), and also
folk and children's songs-such as Chad Gadya and
Dayenu.
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The seder evening meal customarily takes place
at the home with the family. This is also why Haggadah shel
Pesach has
always been present in every home. The Haggadah is one of
the few Jewish
religious books that may be illustrated. This privilege has
been used
since the Middle Ages to create richly illustrated works of
art, both
manuscripts and printed. Among the most famous illustrated
Haggadoth is
the Birds' Head Haggadah (Germany, ca. 1300). Its name comes
from its
one-of-a-kind drawings of human figures with birds' heads.
This was
supposed to deflect accusations that the ban on representing
human
beings had been broken. Another famous Haggadah is the
Sarajevo
Haggadah, from the fourteenth century. Even today, viewers
are awed by
its beautiful illustrations depicting the story of the
Exodus, texts of
the parables and songs are on a gold background, and the
richness of
colors and the precision of the drawings.
Originally made in Spain, it arrived in the Balkans with
Sephardic
Jews after they had been exiled from the Iberian Peninsula.
During the
war in the former Yugoslavia, it was saved by Sarajavan
Muslims who
protected it during the entire duration of the city's siege.
After the
battles ended, in 1996 the leader of the Bosnia Muslims,
Alija
Izetbegović, returned it to the Sarajevo Jews in a ceremony
which took
place on Passover.
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The illustrations in Haggadoth that are
currently published often allude to historical
models�such as the
illuminations of medieval manuscripts, Baroque wood-cuts, or
the soft
lines of the ornaments in Secession (art nouveau) graphics.
Contemporary
Haggadoth very often have parallel texts in Hebrew and other
languages,
to help facilitate understanding of the idea behind the
seder.
(kw/cm)
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