For more than 3,300 years, Jews have been holding Passover Seders. The Seder is text-based, following the Haggadah—said to be the most widely printed Jewish book. Throughout the ages, through trial and tribulation, hunger and harmony, oppression and affluence, Jews have been reliving this important part of our history and the many lessons it imparts. Here is but a small sampling of historical Haggadahs.
Many of these precious books are known as “illuminated Haggadahs,” in which the text is accompanied by beautiful drawings, paintings and designs, evidence of the great love and care shown to the special mitzvah of recounting the Exodus on Passover eve, and specifically to the children,1 to whom the illustrations seem to have been geared to.
1. Birds’ Head Haggadah, c. 1300 (5060)
In addition to holding the title of the oldest surviving illuminated Ashkenazi Haggadah, the Birds’ Head Haggadah is unique in that all Jews depicted therein have birds’ faces and beaks. Several theories abound as to why the artist chose this offbeat style. Regardless, this Haggadah is definitely one of a kind.
Produced in the Upper Rhine region of southern Germany, the characters are portrayed wearing medieval German-Jewish clothing as well as “Jewish hats,” as mandated by the authorities of the era. Today, the original manuscript is housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
2. Sarajevo Haggadah, c. 1350 (5110)
Despite its name, the Sarajevo Haggadah actually originated in Barcelona, Spain. It is one of the oldest Sephardic Haggadahs in existence, and illustrations accompany the handwritten text.
Historians believe that it was spirited out of the country by Jews expelled by the infamous edict of 1492. At one point in the 16th century, the Haggadah appeared in Italy, as evident from notes in its margins, and in 1894 was acquired by the National Museum in Sarajevo. During the Holocaust, it was hidden from the Nazis and their local collaborators by the museum’s chief librarian, who gave it to a Muslim cleric for safekeeping. Today, it is housed in the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
3. First Nuremberg Haggadah, c. 1449 (5209)
Produced in southern Germany in the 15th century by the prolific Joel ben Simeon, this Haggadah is not to be confused with the Second Nuremberg Haggadah (see below). The author and illustrator was active in both his native Germany and Italy, and unlike others, he was particular to sign most of his work. As such, more than a dozen manuscripts of his have been identified. Today, the Haggadah is housed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
4. Rothschild Haggadah, c. 1450 (5210)
This Haggadah was also illuminated in the workshop of Joel ben Simeon, this time in northern Italy. It acquired its name because, until 1939, it was owned by the illustrious Rothschild family. During the Holocaust, it was stolen by the Nazis and disappeared. After the war, the Haggadah was purchased by Dr. Fred Murphy, who donated it to Yale University’s library. It was not until 1980 that the Haggadah was identified as the property of the Rothschilds and returned to the family, who bequeathed it to the National Library of Israel.
5. Second Nuremberg Haggadah, c.1470 (5230)
Like the First Nuremberg Haggadah, this one is illuminated; however, it’s only called by the city which later became infamous for the racist Nazi laws enacted there and the trials prosecuting their perpetrators because it was owned by the Stadtbibliothek (library) of Nuremberg from the mid-19th century until 1957. It was then acquired by the Schocken Collection in Jerusalem and in 2004 was purchased by Mr. David Sofer of London. Many of its illustrations on Passover themes are based on Midrashic stories.
6. Guadalajara Haggadah, c. 1482 (5242)
While all the above editions were written and illustrated by hand, this one holds the title of the first printed Haggadah. Some 40 years after printing was first introduced in Europe, Jews living in Guadalajara, Spain, printed this Haggadah. Ten years later, they would be expelled from the country.
Only one of the original copies is known to be in existence today, housed in the National Library of Israel. According to a 1988 New York Times story titled “Dealer Finds a Haggadah Is Not So Rare,” a con artist tried selling very expert counterfeit copies of the original, but was apprehended soon thereafter.
7. Prague Haggadah, 1526 (5287)
This volume holds the title of the earliest complete illustrated Haggadah. Consequently, it served as a model for all subsequent variations printed. In addition to fascinating artwork, this Haggadah contains relevant halachot (laws) for the Seder, which is particularly significant as the work was printed some 40 years before the Shulchan Aruch.
A puzzling illustration of a man hunting hares on horseback appears below kiddush (see image). In fact, this is not the first Haggadah to include something of this sort. A 15th century Haggadah written in southern Germany by a Meir Jaffe includes a similar scene, along with the text “Yayin, Kiddush, Neir, Havdalah, Zeman,” the unique formulation for when a holiday occurs on Motzei Shabbat (Saturday night after Shabbat) and kiddush is combined with havdalah. Its mnemonic is “YaKNeHaZ,” which resembles the German idiom “jag den Has” (“hunt the hare”). It seems that our illustrator took his cue from that Haggadah’s amusing reminder.
Read: What Is Kiddush? and What Is Havdalah?
8. Venice Haggadah, 1609 (5369)
This beautifully illuminated Haggadah was produced in the city famous for the first printing of the entire Talmud some 90 years prior. In addition to its intricate, captioned illustrations, the text is framed by artistic columns containing a translated commentary. On the bottom corners of the pages are images of Moses, Aaron, David and Solomon.
This Haggadah was widely used in 17th century Europe, as translated editions were simultaneously published in Yiddish, Ladino and Judeo-Italian. In 1629, it was reprinted with the addition of a treatise titled Tzeli Eish (“fire-roasted”),2 a condensation of the commentary of Rabbi Don Isaac Abarbanel on the Haggadah, Zevach Pesach (“Paschal Sacrifice”),3 which is considered one of the classic commentaries on the Haggadah.
9. Amsterdam Haggadah, 1695 (5455)
Illustrated by the German convert to Judaism Abraham ben Jacob, this Haggadah was the first to incorporate copper engravings and a map of the Holy Land. Based on the number of reprints, it seems to have been quite popular until the 18th century. Moreover, its illustrations were widely imitated in subsequent Haggadahs (see below, Kittsee Haggadah).
10. Kittsee Haggadah, 1760 (5520)
Amongst some 2,000 Haggadahs housed in the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad is the rare Kittsee Haggadah. The work was written and illustrated on parchment by the famed calligrapher Chaim ben Asher Anshel of Kittssee, near Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia), who produced some 25 works, including at least 15 Haggadahs with beautiful calligraphy and colorful illustrations.
Many of the illustrations in this work seem to closely follow those in the Amsterdam Haggadah (see above). The instructions and translations are written in Yiddish. Amongst its noteworthy features are the unusual form of the Divine Name as two yuds inside an inverted vav; the vocalization of the word “rabbi” as “ribbi,” in accordance with the older Ashkenazi pronunciation; and the omission of the dagesh in most consonants.
11. Vilna Haggadah, 1909 (5669)
Published under the rule of Czar Nicholas II, the last emperor of Russia, this Haggadah contains illustrations as well as Russian translation and commentary. While Jewish printing presses still operated in limited capacity under the Czars, they were shut down by the Bolsheviks, and only reopened in the nineties.
Read: Once Forbidden, Historic Russian Translation of the Talmud Gains Steam
12. Tunisian Haggadah, 1920 (5680)
The ancient Jewish community in Tunisia has roots tracing back to the First Temple period. Since then, under various rulerships and governments, they maintained a rich religious and cultural life.
In addition to the Hebrew text, this Haggadah includes translations in French and Arabic (written in Hebrew characters), both of which were spoken locally.
13. Farhi Haggadah, 1922 (5682)
!["Dayenu" in Hebrew and Arabic, in the Farhi Haggadah. (Photo: Wikimedia)](https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1125/UiSZ11258361.jpg?_i=_n504BC99DD0473598AAE3BCDC5D75568D ""Dayenu" in Hebrew and Arabic, in the Farhi Haggadah. (Photo: Wikimedia)")
This Haggadah was published in the very land that, centuries earlier, the Jews departed from on Passover. Printed under the rule of King Fuad I of Egypt, and translated into Arabic by a Hillel Jacob Farhi, it includes a detailed map of the Exodus route, which differs from the more widely accepted view of the Jews’ itinerary.
14. Tzuf Amarim Haggadah, 1928 (5688)
Rabbi Moshe Chaim Kleinman lived in Brisk (Brest-Litovsk, Belarus) at the beginning of the 20th century. His Haggadah Tzuf Amarim, which includes a collection of various commentaries on the Haggadah as well as his own insights, was published in 1924 in Warsaw. It is the only known work to bear an approbation by Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
15. Maxwell House Haggadah, 1932 (5692)
In order to dispel any belief that coffee beans are kitniyot, in 1932, Maxwell House, a leading coffee manufacturer, decided to print and distribute the now iconic Maxwell House Haggadah. There are more than 50 million of these Haggadahs in print. There was a two-year pause on the printing during World War II, due to paper shortages. (Note: Coffee is kosher for Passover provided that it is certified by a reputable rabbinic agency.)
Interestingly, General Foods’ (now Kraft Foods) Postum brand published a Haggadah in 1935, noting on the back cover that “Instant Postum is permitted to be consumed throughout the year, aside from the Passover holiday. The makers of Instant Postum . . . are publishing this Haggadah as a signal of the friendly relationship they maintain with the Jews.”
16. Holocaust Haggadah, 1943 (5703)
Before the war, Shmaryahu and Sara Landau were wealthy business owners and community figures who lived with their children Elimelekh, Judah and Tamar in Borislav, Poland. After the Germans invaded in 1939, life for the local Jews became miserable. Following one particularly harsh roundup in February 1943, the Landaus understood that they would have to go into hiding. Mrs. Anna Kushiotko agreed to hide them in her family’s home, which was surrounded by a high wall and was on the city’s outskirts.
The Kushiotko family took care of the Landaus with dedication. On Passover, they allowed the Landaus to kosher their oven and prepare matzahs from grain that the Landaus ground in a coffee grinder. Shmaryahu Landau recited the text of the Haggadah from memory to his son Elimelekh, who wrote and decorated it. After the war, the Landau family immigrated to Israel.
17. Rebbe’s Haggadah, 1946 (5706)
In 1946, the Rebbe published a new commentary to the Haggadah under the title Haggadah for Passover with Collected Customs and Reasons. This was the first of hundreds of books of the Rebbe’s teachings.
In his review of this work, Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin, editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia Talmudit, lauded it as “a wondrous Haggadah, with few comparable to it,” noting its encyclopedic scope and concision, as well as the original insights and explanations that the Rebbe offers. To study the Rebbe’s Haggadah is to open a broad gateway to the laws, practices, liturgy, symbolism and history of the Seder.
The Haggadah has had 43 printings to date, with subsequent teachings of the Rebbe on Passover added in many later editions. While the first edition is a relatively thin pamphlet, the latest edition comprises two hardcover volumes.
Read a Passover insight from the Rebbe here.
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