The Fantastic Az Nashir Haggadah-- Read All About It

I blogged about the Az Nashir Haggadah on Shiloh Musings. Maybe I should have blogged about it here. Click on the link. Many of my friends and teachers in Matan contributed to it. 

Now's the time to order so you have it early enough for next year. I suggest using the articles to prepare for the holiday, either reading on your own or with a group of friends. It's a joint project of lots of brilliant women, Matan and Shvilli.

Listen to Rachel Sharansky Danziger talk about the Haggadah.

Some of The New Great Pesach/Passover Videos

Watch/listen on your phone, too.

There's a real variety here. According to all studies, there isn't a holiday that is more embraced and "varied" than the celebration of Passover. Even many intermarried and questionably Jewish people celebrate it in some way or another. Chazal, our sages, teach that it took the experience of slavery and unbearable discrimination of the "Egypt experience" to change/morph Biblical Jacob's descendants into a people. And at the same time a number of Egyptians were attracted to them and a sizable percentage of the tribes assimilated into Egyptian culture and stayed.

Enjoy, and let me know if there are some other new ones I've missed.

There's lots to choose from

From The Days When We Hosted Humongous S'darim (Seders)

These two shelves are full of Passover Haggadot, the books read from during the Pesach Seder. (And there are lots more Haggadot in other parts of the house, too.) There were years of double tables, and I just don't know how I pulled it off. With five kids, we were seven people without guests, but we always had guests. We were one of the families that always said "yes," when asked if we could take neighbors and strangers in need. And my in-laws came quite a number of times.

The Haggadot are Hebrew only and Hebrew-English. I think we also have some Hebrew-Russian ones from the days we hosted new immigrants olim chadashim from the FSU-Former Soviet Union.

Those were the days...
להבדיל.... lihavdil... not the same, but...

The Medad Version of The Modern Inclusive Completely Kosher Passover Seder

Photo by my husband.

Not all of the Medad clan attended the official family seder, which was at our daughter's home. My three youngest children, plus daughter-in-law and baby granddaughter were in the states for the Holiday with other family members. We do have lots more out there.

First of all, the meal's menu, though you have to go through at least half the Hagaddah before having anything other than some green leaves and wine (or grape juice.)

Yes, that's me doing nothing.  No one else
wants the publicity of a photo which was taken
during set up.
Photo by my husband.

To summarize the meal, you should know that there were both kneidelach and rice. There was a very easy way to know who ate what. All those born Tunisian ate rice and refused the kneidelach. I have no problem seeing rice on the seder table or watching family member eat it. To be perfectly honest, I didn't touch the potatoes either.

We also sang a variety of tunes, and between pretty much all of us, every word in the Hagaddah was read or sung or both. Even I read some of the Hebrew, which may have surprised my grandchildren.

None of the post-Bar Mitzvah aged males made it awake to the end. The only male to stay awake the entire Seder has just over half a decade to go until his Bar Mitzvah. There was lots of singing and dancing by me, my daughters and granddaughters. Could there be something in the genes?

The food was delicious, and we didn't let the lack of alert men stop us from finishing to the very last word, thanks to my daughter. I don't know how she got the energy for it.

In terms of ritual, everything that was required was done and with enthusiasm. The kids came prepared with stories, quizzes and more. We all had a great time, and somehow I was up as usual at 6:30am.

A New Passover Hagaddah!!

First of all, I must admit, that although Darkness to Destiny: The Haggadah Experience by Immanuel Bernstein, Mosaica Press, Feldheim, is my new Hagaddah, it came out about a year ago. I didn't get it until after last Passover, because of a mailing snafu. It has been sitting, all wrapped and sealed, and waiting for me to take a serious look for about ten months.

To summarize, it was well worth the wait!

Darkness to Destiny is just the Hagaddah I need. For the past, who knows how long already, the CARLEBACH HAGGADAH: Seder Night With Reb Shlomo has been my Pesach Seder companion. And I needed something new to read to myself.

Once a year, it is a mitzvah for us to tell a story... The recounting of the Exodus from Egypt forms the centerpiece of the Seder. This story has a unique aspect to it, for it needs to be told as if we are experiencing it in the present. Thus we are told in the Haggadah: In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he came out of Egypt. Why is it so important to tell the story as if it is happening to us now? After all,we left Egypt long, long ago! In this remarkable, easy-to-read, and thought-provoking commentary on the Passover Haggadah, Rabbi Immanuel Bernstein brings a wealth of sources, a lucidity of thought, and tremendous originality in order to help understand what the goal of the Seder really us, and how we can best experience this powerful evening. Amazon

Rabbi Bernstein's Hagaddah is a serious book, without the cute illustrations that many others have. The large, easy to read fonts in Hebrew and English make it a pleasure, no doubt especially after a couple of cups of wine. Another good thing about this Hagaddah is that the language in the commentary is clear and not highfalutin academic. You don't have to be an expert in Jewish Law and Lore to enjoy what he has to say.

This new Hagaddah is going into my Passover closet for the upcoming holiday, and I strongly suggest that you add it to your Seder collection either for yourself or as a gift to host or guests.