The Haggadah (pl. Haggadot – from נ-ג-ד: to tell, declare) is an evolving collection of prayers, stories, rituals, and songs that lead us through the Israelites' liberation from Mitzrayim (a narrow place; Egypt). We can trace different parts of the "canonical" Haggadah across the span of 1,500 years with textual references from the Torah; priestly songs; the Mishnah; Greco-Roman customs; and medieval folk songs. People continue to add texts and songs to their Haggadot today. There is so much content in the Haggadah that is fascinating to study. But in this session, I invite us to focus less on the content of the Haggadah and more on the fact that a Haggadah exists at all.
Blessing for Torah Study
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu la'asok b’divrei Torah. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of all, who hallows us with mitzvot, charging us to engage with words of Torah.
Beginning With Our Own Torah
1. Have you ever been to a seder where you didn't have access to a Haggadah? For example, this could have been an informal seder you went to or hosted that didn't use a Haggadah, or maybe a time when there weren't enough Haggadot for everyone in attendance. If so, what was it like to participate in the seder without a Haggadah? If not, try to imagine what it would be like not to use one. What would you feel or do instead?
2. What function does the Haggadah serve? How might it spiritually move you or others?
Biblical Origins
Question to consider: How, if at all, do the Torah's instructions relate to the Haggadah?
And you shall explain (higadita) to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what GOD did for me when I went free from Egypt.’
Greco-Roman Origins
"From a Sacrifice to a Symposium," A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices by Mishael Zion and Noam Zion
The term "Seder Pesach" once meant the Order of the Passover Sacrifice in the Temple. But after the Temple's destruction in 70 CE, the Rabbis remodeled the Seder after the Greco-Roman symposium ( sym - together, posium - drinking wine). At these Hellenistic banquets guests would recline on divans while servants poured them wine, washed their hands and served appetizers and dips before the meal. In the meantime the symposium host functioned as a talk show moderator. An ancient how-to manual for conducting such a symposium says:
"A symposium is a communion of serious and mirthful entertainment, discourse and actions. It leads to deeper insight into those points that were debated at table, for the remembrance of those pleasures which arise from meat and drink is short-lived, but the subjects of philosophical queries and discussions remain always fresh after they have been imparted." (Athenaeus, Banquet of the Learned , 2nd C)
Thus the Rabbis' prescribed such a banquet for the telling of the Exodus: much wine (four cups); appetizers (celery dipped in salt water); reclining on pillows; having our hands ceremonially washed by others; a royal feast; and most importantly – a philosophical discussion on the story of the Exodus and the issues of freedom versus slavery. The Rabbis wanted Pesach to be an experience of freedom, aristocracy and affluence – thus they chose to mimic the eating habits of their affluent contemporaries.
However, there is a fundamental difference: The Greco-Roman feast was for the rich only, it exploited slaves, it restricted asking questions and exchanging opinions to the ruling class, men only. But at the Pesach Seder all people are invited to eat like royalty, to ask questions and to express opinions, even the spouses and the youngest children. Alongside the wine of the rich, there is the bread of poverty. The needy must be invited to share our meal. Stylish banquets may easily turn corrupt, but the Seder encourages us to savor our liberty, without exploiting or excluding others.
Talmudic Origins
(ה) רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר, כָּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר שְׁלֹשָׁה דְבָרִים אֵלּוּ בְּפֶסַח, לֹא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, פֶּסַח, מַצָּה, וּמָרוֹר. פֶּסַח, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁפָּסַח הַמָּקוֹם עַל בָּתֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרַיִם. מַצָּה, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁנִּגְאֲלוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרַיִם. מָרוֹר, עַל שׁוּם שֶׁמֵּרְרוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת חַיֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְמִצְרָיִם. בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה׳ לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם. לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִין לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ, לְפָאֵר, לְרוֹמֵם, לְהַדֵּר, לְבָרֵךְ, לְעַלֵּה, וּלְקַלֵּס, לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ אֶת כָּל הַנִּסִּים הָאֵלּוּ, הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת, מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו, הַלְלוּיָהּ:
(5) Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who did not say these three matters on Passover has not fulfilled his obligation: The Paschal lamb, matza, and bitter herbs. When one mentions these matters, he must elaborate and explain them....
The tanna of the mishna further states: In each and every generation a person must view himself as though he personally left Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). In every generation, each person must say: “This which the Lord did for me,” and not: This which the Lord did for my forefathers.
[The mishna continues with the text of the Haggadah:] Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, glorify, extol, exalt, honor, bless, revere, and laud [lekales] the One who performed for our forefathers and for us all these miracles: He took us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to a Festival, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption. And we will say before Him: Halleluya...
Rav Shimi bar Ashi said: Matza must be placed before each and every participant at the seder. Each participant in a seder would recline on a couch at his own personal table. Likewise, bitter herbs must be placed before each and every participant, and ḥaroset must be placed before each and every participant. And during the seder, before the meal, one shall remove the table only from before the one reciting the Haggadah. The other tables, which correspond to the seder plates used nowadays, are left in their place.
Early Manuscripts
Afghan Liturgical Quire, Ardon Bar-Hama, Afghanistan, c. 700. Courtesy of Museum of the Bible, currently on view at the Jewish Theological Seminary, https://www.jtsa.edu/news/the-worlds-oldest-jewish-book-on-display-at-the-jewish-theological-seminary/
"The ALQ is a medieval manuscript comprised of prayers, poems, and pages of the oldest discovered Passover Haggadah, which was mysteriously written upside down. The prayers and poetry in the book draw on texts from the Hebrew Bible. The manuscript was found in a cave in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan along the Silk Roads and has been scientifically dated to circa 700. After its discovery in the late twentieth century, Christians, Jews, and Muslims worked together to save it, understand it, and make it accessible to the world."
The Birds' Head Haggadah, Germany, c.1300. Scribe: Menahemca. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/BgHiieuz1IC0Bw
"The name of this early Passover Haggadah derives from its depiction of human figures with pronounced birds' heads. The enigmatic practice of drawing bird and animal heads in place of human faces is found in other Ashkenazi manuscripts of the 13th and 14th centuries and has been interpreted in various ways. This is the first illustrated Haggadah known to be produced as an entity separate from the prayer book."
Golden Haggadah, probably Barcelona, c. 1320. Unknown author, http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=57013
"Upper right: the Dance of Miriam (Ex. 15:20), upper left: the master of the house distributing the matzot (unleavened bread) and the haroset (sweetmeat), lower right: cleaning of the house, lower left: slaughtering the Passover lamb and cleansing dishes (hagalat kelim)."
Darmstadt Haggadah, Germany, c. 1420. Israel b. Meir of Heidelberg, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggadah#/media/File:Haggadah_15th_cent.jpg
The Illustrated Prague Haggadah from 1556. https://blog.nli.org.il/en/prague_haggadah/
