iNg!

From Tradition

New creative Haggadahs:
one from a well-known philanthropist,
the other an interactive version for kids
from a Detroit native.

Penny Schwartz

JTA

F

My Haggadah
Made It Myself

Made It Myself Books

rancine Hermelin Levite and
Edgar M. Bronfman have been
using unique versions of the
Passover Haggadah for years. Now, both
have decided to publish their versions of
the Exodus story.
Hermelin Levite, 43, the Brooklyn, N.Y.-
based mother of three school-age children,
is the author of My Haggadah: Made It
Myself (http://madeitmyselfbooks.com ),
an interactive version for children of the
ritual-laden book that is now available
on Amazon. The former Detroiter is the
daughter of Doreen Hermelin of Bingham
Farms and the late Ambassador David B.
Hermelin.
Bronfman, 84, the business giant and
Jewish philanthropist, offers The Bronfman
Haggadah (Rizzoli), illustrated by his wife,
the artist Jan Aronson.
Hermelin Levite's journey to publish-
ing a Haggadah began about eight or nine
years ago when she joined some unaffili-
ated young Jewish families living in lower
Manhattan who were banding together to
create a Passover celebration.
Growing up in Detroit, Hermelin Levite
says she enjoyed lively and inspirational
seders led by her father, who followed
the traditional Haggadah embellished by
music he composed and other innovations. 1
But she knew it was not a universal experi-
ence.
Hermelin Levite, a one-time journalist,
educational software developer and graph-
ic designer, volunteered to compile the
Haggadah. She said it had to resonate with
kids and families of multiple backgrounds.
She also was motivated by the needs of her
young son, who has severe food allergies
to nuts, chicken and wheat.
"He was allergic to the food of Passover:'
she recalls thinking and vowed to create a
seder in which he could participate.
Hermelin Levite recognized that chil-
dren communicate in various ways.
"The book is designed to invite artistic
expression ranging from simple stickers
to more complex collage and discussion:'
she said, adding that her husband, also a
graphic designer, helped with the images.
Over the years, her do-it-yourself,
hands-on Haggadah has become popular
through word of mouth. Last year she
decided to self-publish and was amazed
with the number of orders from far-flung
locales such as Budapest and Hong Kong.
This year, with a grant from Reboot, a
nonprofit that supports innovative proj-

By:

Date:

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Crewed by Francine Hermelin Levite

Left: Francine Hermelin Levite was motivated in part by the food allergies of her
son to create My Haggadah: Made It Myself. Right: Francine Hermelin Levite.

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EDGAR M. BRONFMAN

ILLUSTRATED DV JAN ARONSON

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Left: Edgar Bronfman incorporates the giving of the Ten Commandments, associated
with the holiday of Shavuot, into The Bronfman Haggadah. Right: Illustrator Jan
Aronson and her husband, author Edgar M. Bronfman.

ects to engage young, unaffiliated Jews,
Hermelin Levite is traveling across the
country introducing the Haggadah to new
audiences. The spiral-bound Haggadah
will appeal to kids with all levels of knowl-
edge of Jewish observance.
To illustrate the passage of the four chil-
dren — the wise, wicked, simple and silent
— the Haggadah offers four blank faces in
which kids are asked to draw the person-
alities of guests at their seder. Blessings are
written in Hebrew with English translit-
eration.
In retelling the Exodus story, children
are presented with an empty suitcase and
asked to think about what they would take
if they had to leave in a hurry. Hermelin
Levite hopes the provocative questions
spark conversation.
She credits her Jewish education and a
family that fostered a love of Jewish expe-
rience with the inspiration for creating the
Haggadah.

"I used to think I was an accidental chil-
dren's book author:' Hermelin Levite wrote
to JTA in an email. "But given my upbring-
ing, professional path and journey raising
my kids, [writing the Haggadah] seems to
make the perfect sense."
Bronfman, too, has fond memories of
his childhood seders as joyful gatherings
of family, but, he says, they were uninter-
esting, uninformative and rote. Over his
lifetime, dissatisfied with the available
Haggadahs, he has cut and pasted pas-
sages from various versions to create more
engaging seders in his own home. A few
years ago, he decided to create his own
Haggadah. "I wanted to get all the words
right:' he said.
The popularity of Passover offers a
unique opportunity, he tells JTA.
"We have a chance to teach young peo-
ple what Judaism is about:' Bronfman said.
Children's author Eric Kimmel, the author
of Wonders and Miracles, a Passover corn-

panion filled with art that in 2004 won a
National Jewish Book award, applauds that
spirit.
"If the traditional version doesn't work
for you, come up with something else
he advocates, with a nod to the tradition
but also with a dose of disrespect, he adds
with a laugh. "What's important is to fol-
low the biblical injunction to tell your chil-
dren the story of Passover."
The Bronfman Haggadah (www.
rizzoliusa.com) is written entirely in
English — Bronfman quips it's to appeal
to most American Jews, who do not know
Hebrew. The reading takes about an
hour-and-a-half. Unlike the traditional
Haggadah, Bronfman includes Moses,
who he holds as a role model of a leader
who asks questions and disrupts the status
quo. But all the characters of the Exodus,
including God, are represented as meta-
phor and not historical facts, he writes.
Welcoming Elijah the prophet earlier in
the seder underscores the Jewish value of
welcoming in strangers, Bronfman says.
New words to the popular song "Dayenu"
express gratitude for establishing a home-
land in Israel. Bronfman ends the seder
with a call for spiritual peace in Jerusalem
among Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and
Arabs, and all warring peoples.
Notably, Bronfman expands the narra-
tive of the traditional Haggadah to include
the giving of the Ten Commandments
at Mount Sinai. While the foundation of
Jewish law is the theme of Shavuot, he
acknowledges that most Jews are unaware
of the holiday that follows Passover.
"Freedom doesn't mean anything with-
out the responsibility of law:' Bronfman
tells JTA. "To be free is a privilege we too
often take for granted."
Aronson, who has fond memories
of Passover seders growing up in New
Orleans, spent nearly a year working
on the illustrations for The Bronfman
Haggadah, determined to avoid cliched
images.
To keep the images fresh and to enter-
tain youngsters, she changes up the artistic
styles from one page to another — some
are realistic, others abstract or geometric
— and also varies the mood and colors.
A biblical map of the Exodus depicts the
possible routes traveled by the Israelites.
For the Ten Plagues, Aronson draws a
large singing insect that will capture the
attention of children. Miriam's tambourine
is vibrantly colored with long flowing rib-
bons that complement the joy described
in the narrative as the Israelites escape
bondage.

❑

March 14 • 2013

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