Mossad HaRav Kook Sale 2016 By Eliezer Brodt For over thirty years, starting on Isru Chag of Pesach, Mossad HaRav Kook publishing house has made a big sale on all of their publications, dropping prices considerably (some books are marked as low as 65% off). In recent years their practice has been to publish several new titles in the few weeks prior to the sale; during the rest of the year not as many titles are printed. They also reprint…
Everything is Illuminated: Mining the Art of Illustrated Haggadah Manuscripts for Meaning We have discussed haggadah illustrations in the past (see the links at the end of this post) and we wanted to expand and update upon that discussion for this year. In this post we focus on Hebrew illuminated haggadah manuscripts, and in the follow-up post will turn our attention to printed illustrated haggadot. While there is not as large of a body…
R. Elazar Fleckeles’s Haggadah Maaseh BR’ Elazar By Eliezer Brodt In the past I wrote: Perhaps the topic which has engendered the most commentary in Jewish literature is the Haggadah shel Pesach. There are all kinds, in all languages, and with all types of commentary, pictures, etc. Whatever style one can think of, not one, but many Haggadahs have been written. So, whether it’s derush, kabbalah, halakha, mussar or chassidus there are plenty of Haggadahs out there. Then, there are…
Aaron the Jewish Bishop The exodus from Egypt was led by Moses and Aaron. Moses, however, does not appear in the Passover haggadah (with one exception that is likely a later interpolation).[1] Aaron does make two appearances in the hallel section. That said, in numerous illuminated haggadahs, from the medieval period to present, both appear in illustrated form. Additionally, in printed haggadot, most notably the 1609 Venice haggadah, one of the seminal illustrated haggadot, Moses and Aaron appear on the decorative border. Generally, conclusively…
Upcoming Auction Review: By Dan Rabinowitz and Eliezer Brodt In recent years a number of auction houses specializing in Hebrew books, manuscripts and ephemera have opened. In some instances, these have displaced and surpassed more well-established houses and certainly provide more opportunities for the collector. A new house, Legacy Auctions, is holding its first auction on April 13. One can view their complete catalog here [There is also a link to a PDF if one scrolls down here.] As we…
Book Announcement: הגדה של פסח “אשירה ואשננה בחשיקות” מאת גבריאל וסרמן You may purchase a copy here. Every year, many haggadot are published, with various features, but almost all of them have the nearly identical Hebrew text. Yes, Ashkenazic haggadot have a few songs at the end that are not in most Sephardic haggadot, and some Sephardic haggadot may have a few kabbalistic passages that are not in Ashkenazic haggadot, but by and large the texts are well-nigh identical. In…