Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Haggadot
So, Pesach is coming and last time, I asked for some suggestions as to how to make the seder more exciting. This time, I am curious as to what haggadah everyone is using, and, ofcourse why that one in particular. I finally got my "The Historical Haggada" today by mail. So far, its a bit on the eeehh, side. Not really what I expected.
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Whichever one at my parents' house has nice, clear, clean type and not too few words per page, and that doesn't get snatched up by my father. :)
ReplyDeleteMy recommendation is here Everyone likes it because of the artwork inside.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow, I plan to post a piece with Chabakuk Elisha about suggestions for the seder.
These Hagadot are highly recommended--personally, I use several throughout the night.
ReplyDeleteReuven Bulka's Haggadah Connection
does a nice job of explaining the flow of the text--and putting a semblance of order onto what appears to be chaos.
Chief Rabbi of England's Jonathan Sack's Haggadah--clear commentary and 25-30 marvelous mini-essays.
Traditionalists who don't mind English translations and commentaries will enjoy the Lehmann Haggadah (a bit stilted now) and the first, now classic,
Artscroll Haggadah edited by Rabbi
Joseph Elias.
David Dishon/Noam Zion's A Different Night --modern and traditional all at once. Can be a real eye-opener, but you have to be selective or your seder will last until it's "time for morning Shema"
A Hebrew version,culturally Israeli, is called HaLaila Hazeh (edited by a father/son team of Mishael Zion and Noam Zion); in many ways it's even better than the Dishon/Zion version but you need a fairly godd level of Hebrew and an affinity for Israeli culture.
A toned down version of the above, for Anglo (mostly US) audiences just came out, called A Night to Remember.
The Torah Tots Haggadah is surprisingly sophisticated, given that it's aimed at kids. The same can be said for the Artscroll Youth Haggadah. Both are good openers for the Child-Who-Does-Not-Know lurking inside many adult Seder participants. But a Jewishly educated adult will get bored soon; there is little beyond a basic layer of insight.
The Torat Chaim Haggadah, as well as Menachem Kasher's Haggadah Shleimah, Safrai's Haggadat Chazal
are both masterworks of erudition and sources--but more for pre-Yom Tov and Yom Tov lunch/chol Hamoed perusal and study. (All Hebrew only.)
Three hagagdot with similar names Commentator's Haggadah, C's Seder, C's Pesach are all extensive and very traditional. Edited by Rabbi (Yitzchak?) Sender.
Both Tchelet Mordechai (Mordechai Elon)and Hegyonei Halacha Haggadah (Mirsky)are marvelous in Hebrew and now also in English, but I've not reviewed the English versions so I don't know how they hold up.
That's all for now.
Ezzie,
ReplyDeleteYou're going to find this amusing.
I actually just purchased a "Sephardic Heritage" Hagadah with commentary from The RAMBAM, Baba Sali and other great Sephardi chachamim.
I have been perusing the hagadah so I have what to say at the Ashkenazik/Chasidic seder I will be attending.
I will probably look over the Torat Chaim haggadah beforehand so I don't get distracted and overwhelmed by the different perushim, and so I actually have something coherent to say at the seder. But it's true that it's better to look at it beforehand or during chol hamoed, no one can read everything fast enough to go through it all at the seder itself.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the sake of uniformity, I'll probably also have a copy of either the Maxwell House haggadah or the Artscroll Family Haggadah open side-by-side with whatever else I'm looking at so when it's my turn to read out loud I'll be with everyone else.
Scraps:
ReplyDeleteno! uniformity of haggadas is BAD! mixing and comparing translations is the best part of the seder! ;-)
I also enjoy mixing hagaddahs, just not wine.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the Absolut Haggadah, available online free here http://www.beyondbt.com/?p=671