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Tag: Historical Haggadah

Rabbi Eliezer Brodt on Haggadah shel Pesach: Reflections on the Past and Present

Rabbi Eliezer Brodt on Haggadah shel Pesach: Reflections on the Past and Present

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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 people who specialize in collecting haggadahs although they do not regularly collect seforim. In almost…

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Old Haggadot for Free

Old Haggadot for Free

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Many of the haggadot that we have mentioned previously as well as many other interesting ones are available for free in there entirety at the JNUL’s site here. All you need is a printer (just make sure to switch to landscape printing for the double paged ones) and you too can have a copy of 1482 haggadah, 1526 Prague haggdah (first fully illustrated haggadah), Venice Ladino haggadah, 1833 English translation, or the 1844 haggadah printed in Calcutta, India to name…

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Haggadah, First Hebrew Map, and Forgery

Haggadah, First Hebrew Map, and Forgery

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One of the most beautifully done haggadot is that of the Amsterdam, 1695. This haggadah for the first time used copperplate instead of woodcuts to produce the illustrations. Consequently, the illustrations are sharper and more intricate. The illustrator, Avrohom bar Ya’akov mimispchto shel Avrohom avenu, as is apparent from his name, was a convert. Before converting he was a preacher. His edition of the haggadah was special not only for the copperplate and the illustrations, but for a specific illustration,…

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Separate Beds More on Illustrated Haggadot

Separate Beds More on Illustrated Haggadot

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As part of the hagadah there is an extensive discussion where various verses are discussed in depth. One of the verses, Devarim 26:7, says that “God heard our pain” (וירא את ענינו), this is interpreted in the hagadah as refraining from martial relations. In the Venice 1629 edition of the hagadah this is illustrated by having husband and wife sleeping in separate beds. [As you can also see, for some reason the text of this edition has two yuds in…

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Prague 1526 Haggadah

Prague 1526 Haggadah

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The Prague haggadah is filled with fascinating and important illustrations. As we have seen previously, the Prague haggadah contained nudes, which when appropriated later were removed. This included in the haggadah context as well as in other works. Aside from these illustrations, there is an illustration of Abraham when God takes him “from the other side of the river.” In the Prague haggadah we have Abraham in a row boat. However, when this was appropriated in the Mantau, 1560 haggadah,…

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Eliyahu Drinking from the Cup

Eliyahu Drinking from the Cup

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I hope to have a few posts in the coming days discussing some of the artwork found in various haggdah. While for hundreds of years artwork played an integral part of the haggadah recently this has fell into disuse. While there are few notable exceptions to this, Raskin, Moss Haggadahs, this practice of richly illustrating the haggdah has been replaced with a focus on commentaries. One of the reasons, however, the practice of illustrating the haggadah, can be found in…

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Racy Title Pages Update II

Racy Title Pages Update II

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While I do not intend to focus solely on racy title pages, I do have a futher update to my previous posts I, II. It appears that the title page used in the Levush (Prauge, 1590) was actually a recycled page. It was first used in the Prague 1526 Haggada. Now aside from this page, which we have seen is objectionable to some today, there were other objectionable illustrations in this edition. Yerushalmi in his Haggadah and History, notes that…

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