Szyk Haggadah

What first attracted me to this Haggadah is the intricate and colorful artwork. It is a beautiful book. But it is not only that: the text matters as well as the pictures. Remember, the pictures were made to enhance the words. The words came first. 

 

What is new to this edition are the commentary and the translation by Byron L. Sherwin and Irvin Ungar; oh, and the paper is shinier and larger. Our library also has the older, smaller version edited by Cecil Roth with a different translation and commentary. And there is, of course, the artist’s own commentary: every picture tells a story—Szyk’s art is his interpretation of the text. His luxurious work is fitting for a festive meal. His modern and ancient clothing makes the ancient story of Passover relevant to the 1930s, when he created this Haggadah.

 

Passover Prep: Wonders and Miracles

Now that we’ve gotten in the mood for Passover via two Seder books [1, 2] and some of us have started to go insane cleaning things we never knew were dirty, it’s wise to occasionally take a break to get inspired and remember that the holiday is about more than cleaning and preparing. The library has some great books to inspire us and offer some fresh ways to see Passover and the world.

I’ve chosen Eric A. Kimmel’s Wonders and Miracles: A Passover Companion (New York: Scholastic Press, 2004) as the Book of the Week, but there are plenty of other good books. This book has pictures from several illustrated Haggadot, stories, explanations, recipes, prayers with translations and transliterations, Debbie Friedman lyrics and more! Not surprisingly for a book published by Scholastic, this book is appropriate for, but not limited to, middle schoolers; I learned things. While Dr. Kimmel assumes his primary audience is Jewish, some of his comments will be of interest to Christians. Eric Kimmel has written many children’s picture books—which makes him a great author in my estimation. We  corresponded via email after I saw him speak in New York to promote this book—which makes him a mensch.

Some of the other books that look inviting in our library include:

• Creating Lively Passover Seders: A Sourcebook of Engaging Tales, Texts & Activities by David Arnow (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2004).
• The Women’s Passover Companion: Women’s Reflections on the Festival of Freedom edited by R. Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, Tara Mohr, and Catherine Spector (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2003). The editors have a Yale connection, as does Paula Hyman, who wrote the foreword. Lots of contributions from prominent Jewish women.
• Leading the Passover journey: The Seder’s Meaning Revealed, the Haggadah’s Story Retold by Nathan Laufer (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2005).
• Uncle Eli’s Special for Kids Most Fun Ever Under the Table Passover Haggadah by Eliezer Segal (San Francisco, CA: No Starch Press, 1999). Recommended by R. Dana Bogatz.

You might notice that most of these books are published by Jewish Lights. What makes you trust a book enough to pick it up and look at it? The author? Because you’ve read her before? Because you’ve heard of him? The  cover? The quality of the paper? The fonts? The publishing house? Because you’ve liked other books printed by it? Because a favorite author is published by it? The blurbs on the back cover? The topic? The pictures?

I like Jewish Lights because I like Lawrence Kushner. I like Rabbi Kushner because I attended a program he did in Plainfield, NJ, many years ago. He picked some audience members to be the various characters in the Adam and Eve story and he was thoughtful enough to ask the apple what she thought about what was going on in the story. In addition to books about spirituality, he wrote an alphabet book (note my love of children’s picture books), The Book of Letters, and a nicely self-deprecating explanation of how he came to do so.

One last comment before I get back to cleaning: What you bring to a book and what you want to get from it are (nearly?) as important as the contents of the book. Each time you read it, you will be different.

Every Picture Tells a Story: The Sarajevo Haggadah

People of the Book: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks (2008) is a popular book of Jewish historical fiction. It explores various times and places of Jewish history by tracing the journey of The Sarajevo Haggadah, originally created in the fourteenth century.

Kiddush, etc.

The author portrays what life was like via imaginary characters. Muslims are shown in a most sympathetic light (except for one story). I found the Inquisition story very disturbing; torture is graphically described. The stain in the Haggadah, that I always assumed was wine, is said to be blood. The book is reminiscent of James Michener’s The Source (1965), except that the stories are in reverse chronological order in People of the Book. I know many people love this book and that it is a popular Book Group selection. I found the writing not as polished as I would have liked. I was especially disappointed by the absence of any pictures since the plot refers to the Haggadah’s illustrations so often.

spills on "Ha Lachma Anya ..."

One important plot point has to do with the fact that a reproduction is never entirely the same as the original. Digital copies of a picture, no matter how small the pixel size is, will never be quite like a painting done by hand. And certainly copies of the things that get spilled or dropped on a book  as it is used will not be the same as the actual spillage. I think this relates to the interest in the analog qualities of music records as opposed to the digital audio files that have mostly replaced them. Anyway, ….

The book I really want to recommend this week is the library’s facsimile edition of The Sarajevo Haggadah. Half the book is English commentary and history by Cecil Roth; the other half is a reproduction of the original on shiny paper. The more recent, unfortunately exciting, history of the Haggadah happened after this version was published. It is mentioned in Geraldine Brooks’ novel.

 

Reed Sea; Miriam

Creation

The Haggadah starts with pictures of Creation and the origins of the Jewish people.

Wise and wicked sons

The illustrations are brilliant and the Hebrew is surprisingly readable. It was exciting to see two of the four sons, Hacham (wise) and Rasha (wicked),  highlighted in decorative borders on facing pages.

Every page is beautiful. It reminded me how important the visual appearance of books is. I’m toying with the idea that one problem with too many Jewish ritual books is that there are no pictures. Why can’t we have a siddur with cartoons?

Two illustrated 20th-century Haggadot in our library are by Arthur Syzk and Ben Shahn; Cecil Roth is connected to these books as well. And there are others on display on top of the bookcases in the children’s  section of the library.

Next week I’ll talk about some books that you can use to get ready for and celebrate Passover.

Meanwhile, if you would like to comment with recommendations about Haggadot (and foods and activities) for the Seder, I would be most appreciative: After about a quarter of a century (wow!), I think I’ve done all I can with the Conservative movement’s Feast of Freedom and my husband is eager for a book that has page numbers.