Perhaps even more than the High Holy Days, Passover, which is the first of four Jewish New Years, is the symbol of Jewish peoplehood and common Jewish destiny.
By GREER FAY CASHMANRabbi Shmuel Goldin served as spiritual leader of the Ahavath Torah Congreation in Englewood, New Jersey(photo credit: Courtesy)
As many people know, the world’s bestselling book is the Bible. But in the Jewish world, the bestselling book is arguably the Haggadah which can be found in many households where there is no Bible.Regardless of their degree of religious observance, on the first night of Passover, as well as the second in most diaspora communities, Jews around the world tend to gather in family clusters and sometimes with the addition of friends or even strangers to retell the story of the exodus from Egypt, and the evolution from slavery, to freedom to nationhood.Perhaps even more than the High Holy Days, Passover, which is the first of four Jewish New Years, is the symbol of Jewish peoplehood and common Jewish destiny.It is celebrated by Jews of every stripe in all the lands of their dispersion, and the basic text in the Haggadah, varies little from country to country or from Ashkenazi, to Sephardi to North African communities or from ultra Orthodox to Reform and Reconstructionist.For those who don’t celebrate the Seder with family or friends, there are communal seders run by hotels, community centers and various religious organizations – the most famous being the annual Chabad mega seder for backpackers in Kathmandu.For some inexplicable reason, people who may not attend synagogue services on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur often feel the need to attend a Seder.Aside from ensuring an adequate supply of matza and wine, plus the various ritual foods that go on the Seder plate, the main concern of any host or hostess is that there are sufficient copies of the Haggadah to distribute to each of the people sitting around the table.Sometimes these are beautifully preserved hard cover editions. Sometimes they are slim volumes, almost like pamphlets, whose many years of use are indicated by wine stains and the remains of matza crumbs. Not everyone remembers to shake out the Haggadah after the Seder.In some households the Haggadahs are uniform. In others they vary in size, explanations, illustrations and general attractiveness, and each guest selects what suits them best.In recent years, it has become quite trendy, especially in the Diaspora, to invite non-Jews to the Seder – not just to prove that centuries of blood libel were absolutely false, a truly prime example of fake news – but to give them an understanding of Jewish history and Jewish values.It would seem that Rabbi Shmuel Goldin’s comprehensive study of the underpinnings or the structure of the Haggadah is geared for such people as well as for Jews who have little or no understanding of their own heritage.The actual Haggadah text is in Hebrew with transliteration of the initial words to most verses, though it would have been more helpful to transliterate the whole text and thereby enable people who can’t read Hebrew, to follow the proceedings.Let’s be honest. Although the Seder is the most widespread form of bringing Jews together, not everyone enjoys it, especially if they don’t understand the Hebrew or the Aramaic.Goldin provides translations and explanations in English, as well as introductory essays, which may serve as a diversion for bored guests. There is indeed plenty to read – so much so that anyone who takes the trouble to go through all of his explanatory notes and quotes from the sages, will have a very long wait for the actual Seder meal which begins only on page 150.Yet with all the insights that Goldin gives, a small generalization stands out like a sore thumb. When he refers to karpas, which is one of the ritual foods on the Seder plate, he correctly states that all manner of vegetables can be used for dipping in salt water or vinegar, but says that lettuce is the most common.Most common where?Perhaps in the community of Englewood New Jersey where he served as spiritual leader of the Ahavath Torah Congregation for more than three decades before moving to Israel in 2017. In many households, it’s not lettuce, but celery or parsley or onion or boiled potatoes, or in some places a choice from two or three of the above.It would have been a little more interesting to have included prevailing customs amongst Jewish communities in different countries.The most interesting part of the book is in the analysis of the conversation of the four sons, which acknowledges differences within a tribe in the same way as the lulav on Sukkot acknowledges differences, and yet despite their differences the species are bound together, just as the four sons are bound together, even though one in a sense, excludes himself.There are parts of the book which seem to be a little too academic, and would appeal only to adults who are interested in a prolonged philosophical discourse.But seder night is in many respects a children’s festival. In fact, we are commanded to tell the story of the exodus to our children so that they will remember that we were once slaves in Egypt, and will not take freedom for granted.This is certainly not a book that young children would read, though some teenagers would find it very informative.It’s much more than just another Haggadah, and it’s very nicely presented on semi-gloss paper with the Hebrew in a large font.If there is such a thing that could be described as a coffee table Haggadah for the use of guests who come early before the hosts have finished final preparations, this is definitely it.It will be an interesting read for guests while they’re waiting, and it will leave the hosts free to focus on what still needs to be done.It’s obvious that Goldin has done a lot of research in order to familiarize his readers not only with the Passover story as such, but with the various rituals connected to the festival.For the previously uninitiated, it may prove to be a valuable text book.For those who think they know everything there is to know about Passover, it may offer a surprise or two.
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