Home
In this issue
June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting


Jewish World Review April 2, 2004 /12 Nissan, 5764

The Hagadah: Story of a People in flux

By Rabbi Berel Wein

Printer Friendly Version

Email this article




Pay close attention to the primary Passover text you pick. It says much about the society we live — and lived — in


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | As Pesach is perhaps the most beloved and observed of Jewish holidays, so is its story as related in the Hagadah a source of unusually great Jewish pride and affection.


Over the many centuries since its basic format was codified and set (approximately in the seventh century CE) the Hagadah has appeared in numerous editions and formats. In the High Middle Ages, when illumination of scrolls and later printed books were in vogue, the Hagadah was also the subject of the illuminator's art. There are a number of famous illuminated Hagadahs that are still extant with us.

Donate to JWR


The Rylands Hagadah, a page of which is pictured above, is located in Manchester, England and contains some of the most beautiful art work and decorative touches in all Hebraica. The famous "Birds' Heads" Hagadah, a replica of which can be seen in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, shows all of the human characters portrayed in the Hagadah as having the heads of a birds instead of that of human beings. This is in line with the opinion of some, under Jewish law, that a human figure should not be rendered faithfully as that could perhaps violate the prohibition against idols and their creation.


Of note, in these medieval Hagadahs, is the fact that the Jews portrayed are all wearing "Jew hats." The Church forced the Jews to wear ludicrous looking hats as a penance and punishment for their obstinate refusal to renounce Judaism and accept Christianity. These hats, some formed like a dunce cap or having a ridiculous ball tied to them, were instead converted by the Jews into a badge of pride to their loyalty to Torah and the G-d of Israel. As you may have noticed, many Jews still have a penchant for wearing strange hats, a practice which the general non-Jewish society in the Western world has long ago abandoned.


One of the more fascinating features of the different editions of the Hagadah over the ages is how the "ben rasha" — the "bad son" — is portrayed in the illustrations.


In early times, he is portrayed as a Greek thespian or as a Roman gladiator. In medieval times, he was either the rough, coarse, unlettered peasant or the equally brutal and cruel wandering knight. In later Hagadahs, the "bad son" was portrayed as being foppish and a dilettante in appearance. In early twentieth century American Hagadahs, he appears as a member of an organized crime gang, cigarette dangling from his lips and a large hat pushed back on his head. In certain Hagadahs published in Eastern Europe and later also in Israel, the "bad son" was portrayed as the leader or member of a certain religious or political group that the publisher of the Hagadah strongly disapproved of. One can learn a great deal about Jewish life, past and present, not only by reading and studying the Hagadah but also by just looking at the pictures.


There have been numerous revisionist Hagadahs printed and distributed over the centuries. In the early twentieth century, the believing Leftists amongst us produced a Hagadah according to the teachings of Marx and Engels. It was intended not so much to remember the Exodus from Egypt as it was to extol the wonders of socialism and communism and trumpet the collapse of the capitalist chains that enslaved the proletariat.


Somehow, Stalin diminished the popularity of this Hagadah though there are still kibbutzim in Israel that have such Leftist Hagadahs in use. Jews are true believers till the end. For all of us raised in the United States in the early and middle parts of the last century, the "Maxwell House" Hagadah was a staple of our existence. Many food companies and supermarkets produced Hagadahs that they distributed "free" to their customers.


Today, there are all types of Hagadahs available, ranging from erudite scholarly works to beautifully illustrated books for young children. Every Pesach brings with it new editions of the great old Hagadah. The Hagadah of Pesach should not just be reserved for the Seder night of Pesach alone. It has much to teach us at any time of the year.

Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Rabbi Berel Wein is one of Jewry's foremost historians and founder of the Destiny Foundation. He has authored over 650 tapes, books and videos which you can purchase at RabbiWein.com. Comment by clicking here.

© 2004, Rabbi Berel Wein