History of Haggadahs

It is estimated that there have been over 3000 different editions of the Haggadah since it was first orchestrated many centuries ago. And that does not even include the 20 versions my father made for the Dorf family Seders back in Milwaukee or the many thousand other homemade supplements which have been made by creative people recently.

New York (1837)

The Haggadah marked "Second American Edition" is, in a sense, the first. The first edition, so identified by its publisher S. H. Jackson, was printed in New York in 1837, and on both Hebrew and English title pages reads, "Translated into English by the late David Levy of London." No such attribution to a foreign source is found on his son's edition, which appeared in 1850, where the only credit noted is to the printer and publisher, J.M. Jackson, 190 Houston Street and 203 Bowery. The Hebrew chronogram on both reads "Next Year in Jerusalem."

Chicago (1879)

Another classic image is of the 4 sons taken from the 1879 "Chicago Haggadah" published in New York in 1878. The text is traditional, the translation usual, but the Seder table scene is new. It shows a turbaned father and a prim mother with the wise son, a kippah (skullcap) on his head and reading from a book, at their side. Across from them, the simple son sits bareheaded, as does the one "who knows not how to ask," while the wicked son, bareheaded, is leaning back on his chair, smoking a cigarette.

In this image, the generation gap between Eastern European immigrants to the U.S.A. and their assimilated wicked son is foremost. Having adopted new-fangled American ways, the son smokes, dresses in black clothes with a modish cut and dances on his tilted chair. He takes the initiative in attacking his parents with an accusatory finger as if to say derisively, "What is this ritual for you?" The simple and the silent children, distinguished only by their hand motions, are mesmerized by the wicked son who sits at the head of the table holding forth. The other three figures – mother, bearded father and wise child with kippah – are dressed traditionally in pale white. Their body language bespeaks paralysis, passivity and lack of communication. The conversation is dominated by the three children in black, all with uncovered heads and backs turned. The family is divided culturally and by generations. Only the wise child identifies with the old ways.

Prague (1526)

The woodcut figures represent adult types. The wicked "child" is the soldier dressed in showy clothes with a feather in his ornate hat. His body language expresses arrogant self-assuredness and almost bursts the framework of the picture, while his black sword pierces the woodcut frame at a threatening diagonal. This figure has effectively read himself out of his people by assimilating to the military culture of Europe. By contrast, the wise "child" is represented by an elderly scholar whose body is smaller and weaker than that of the soldier. The simple child submissively points and gazes downward while the child without questions is wholly absorbed in the parents' story.

Cartoons & Carnage

Cartoons have created a serious political and religious stir this past year. Therefore, we thought for this year's Haggadah, to include the article below reprinted with permission from our friends at Jewish Week, as well as an assortment of other comics of interest—both funny and disturbing.

Click here to download the article