THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, April 16, 1982 23
Boris Smolar's
`Between You
. . . and Me'
THE YIDDISH HAGGADA: Among the contribu-
tions of American Jewry to the variety of Haggadot, the
Workmen's Circle — the great fraternal Jewish organiza-
tion — stands out with its Haggada in Yiddish. This Hag-
gada, emphasizing the liberation part of the Passover story,
carries poems in Yiddish reflecting the Passover spirit in
general as well as the hopes and bravery of the Jews in
fighting the Nazis. The entire literary material is translit-
erated in English letters.
The Socialist - Zionsit "Jewish Liberation Haggada"
carries basic parts of the traditional Haggada in Hebrew
and in English and Holocaust material in Yiddish. It also
incorporates views of prominent Zionist theoreticians.
Liberal as its text is, it nevertheless carries the "Shefoch
Hamoskho" prayer calling for divine revenge.
EVERGREEN
I * I
LAHSER
(Copyright 1982, JTA, Inc.)
SOUTHFIELD
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
POST-PASSOVER REFLECTIONS: Anyone wish-
ing to evaluate the Passover sentiments among the various
groups in American Jewry — as they were reflected at the
Seder this year — must get acquainted with the variety of
texts of the Haggada published for this Passover in this
country.
There have been some 3,500 editions of the Haggada
published since the printing of the first Haggada exactly
()0 years ago, in 1482. The first printed Haggada was
'oduced in Spain shortly after Guttenberg invented print-
ing — 10 years before the Jews were exiled from that
country. Numerous editions were published since then,
some with omissions, additions and commentaries in the
text that had been recited at the Seder hundreds of years
before printing was known. Some ancient haggadot in
manuscript — like the Sarajevo Haggada which historians
believe was created somewhere in or near Spain, and the
Kaufmann Haggada which is now in the Hungarian
Academy of Science in Budapest — are famous in the world
of art for their superb colorful illustrations.
Superbly illuminated and illustrated texts of ancient
Haggada manuscripts can also be found in the British
Museum, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, and in
museums in Germany, Holland and other countries, in-
cluding the museum in Leningrad. The Haggada has been
translated in about 25 languages and has become the most
popular book of the Jewish people next to the Bible.
A FIVE-YEAR EFFORT: Outstanding in their at-
tractiveness are the new Haggadot published this year by
the Conservative rabbis and by the Reform rabbis. Both are
beautifully produced and impressively illustrated in color.
Both of them are based on the three moments of the tradi-
tional Haggada — the story of the liberation of the Jews
from Egypt, chapters of Hallel (Pslams) expressing thanks
to God for liberating the Jews, and the part of the end of the
Haggada which completes the Seder in a jolly mood.
It took five years for an editorial body of prominent
Conservative rabbis to examine each part of pronounce-
ment in the traditional Haggada with a view to establish-
ing what they represent for Jewry of today. Underlying this
effort was the idea of stimulating discussion at the Seder
table on the liberation of the Jews from Egypt in relation to
contemporary Jewish life and problems.
ELIMINATION OF "PILPUL": One of the parts in
the traditional Haggada which the Conservative Haggada
eliminated is the "pilpul" — the discussion — between the
sages as to whether the Egyptians were punished with 10,
or 40, or 50 plagues in Egypt and with 50, or 200, or even
250 plagues, when they attempted to cross the Red Sea in
chase after the liberated Jews.
The "pilpul" of the three venerated rabbis is omitted
also in the Haggada of the. Reform rabbis. This Haggada
carries the 10 plagues and a page of colorful art illustra-
tions about them. At the same time it states, however, that
the recitation of the 10 plagues can be "replaced" by recit-
ing the chapter "Praise to God" in the Psalms — a chapter
which refers in general to the "signs and wonders" which
brought about the liberation of the Jews, but does not
enumerate the plagues.
- Both Haggadot — the Conservative and the Reform —
include as innovation, Yiddish songs of hope which defiant
Jews sang in Nazi concentration camps and in the Warsaw
Ghetto, where the heroic uprising against the Nazi occupa-
tion forces started on the evening of the first Seder. Both
also carry excerpts from modern-Jewish literature reflect-
ing oppression and bravery of Jews and fortifying the idea
expressed in the traditional Haggada that "in every gener-
ation forces arise which strive to annihilate us." However,
he Reform Haggada does not carry the "Shefoch Hamos-
10" — the prayer to God "to pour his wrath on the nations
.which have devoured Jacob and laid waste his dwelling
place."
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