Passover
Something Different
"If I am not
for myself,
then who
will be
for me?"
New Haggadahs give leaders ideas to
change up the traditional seder.
Ken Guten Cohen
Story Development Editor
y
es, the traditional seder, often
led from the Maxwell House
Haggadah, has withstood the
test of generations, but if you're looking
for ways to freshen the seder experi-
ence, check out these new references
for the seder.
• Dry Bones Haggadah by Yaakov
Kirschen (L.K.P. Ltd., $18 and $36 ).
Artist Kirschen, whose Dry Bones
cartoons run in
Jewish newspapers,
To
including the JN and
the Jerusalem Post,
has created a tradi-
tional Haggadah in
Hebrew and English
featuring his Dry
Bones characters.
"It's not a cartoon Haggadah:' Kirschen
stresses in a I-Post story "It is a seri-
ous commentary presented in a subtle
way, speaking to readers with the same
approach Dry Bones has spoken to news-
paper readers for the past 40 years. I
deliver the message under the radar. It
is a Haggadah whose pages are framed
with Dry Bones cartoon commentary. The
layout is modeled on the way a page of
Talmud is structured; a uniquely Jewish
concept that allows the reader to under-
stand the commentary as more than just
footnotes:'
Kirschen, who made aliyah with his
wife in 1971, financed his project through
Kickstarter crowd sourcing. (Download a
high-resolution PDF for $18 if you want
to use it this Passover; otherwise, order
hard copies signed by the author sent
from Israel for $36 each, with a discount
for multiples: www.store.drybones.com .)
Passover Regptdah
IVO
„
M"
University of Michigan
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
congratulates its partner agency, Hillel at U of M,
for its exceptional work in promoting Israel
and creating a positive dialogue on campus.
• 60Minute Seder: Complete Passover
Haggadah by Robert Kopman and Bil
Yanok ($10.95).
From the authors of the best-selling
30Minute Seder Haggadah comes the
expanded version that includes all 15
parts of the tradition-
al seder. Presented
in a glossy maga-
zine format, this
Haggadah is a happy
mix of traditional
and modern.
Great care was
given to keep the
after-dinner prayers brief but compelling
because many families don't come back to
the table for the completion of the seder,
Jewish Federation
OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT
We also gratefully acknowledge:
A
Jewish
vv Communit
AWARelations
Anti-Defamation League•
• Council
Media Relations
Israel Advocacy • Community Activis
908950
30 April 3 • 2014
the authors say. The book also contains
gender-neutral text, clear instructions for
leaders and plenty of popular songs that
have cues for when to sing them. And, at
the end, there's a Passover quiz to see who
is the seder maven. (Both versions are
available at Barnes & Noble or by visit-
ing www.60minuteseder.com — type in
Moses for a 10 percent discount — or by
calling 877-669-3030.)
• Sixty-Minute Seder: Preserving the
Essence of the Passover Haggadah by Cass
(Yickezkale) and Nellie (Nechama) Foster
(Six Points Press, $12.95).
Cass Foster, author of the popular
Sixty-Minute Shakespeare series, cre-
ated this condensed version of the tra-
ditional Haggadah at the urging of his
Shakespeare series fans. For the book, his
wife, Nellie, provides recipes for Passover
and the seder meal
that families can
make together.
SIXTY-MINUTE SEDER
This Haggadah
includes all 15 parts
of the traditional
seder. Foster says
PRESERVIR6 DIE [SOU
OF Ulf PASSOVER HAEGADAII
his own first-night
seders have been
known to put some
of his 45 or so
guests to sleep, so he took up the one-
hour challenge. The result offers a sim-
ple guide that's modern and accessible
to all, including a second night seder,
children's activities and fun songs.
(www.sixtyminuteseder.com )
• Passover Parodies: Short Plays for
the Seder Table by Shoshanna Hantman
(Sidney Books, $15).
Although the Passover seder is the
most attended Jewish
ritual, with 95 percent
of American Jews
participating, those
who go often find it
boring. To enliven any
seder, Hantman offers
a series of 10-minute
plays for the Passover
seder table. With
themes that vary, families can pick one
each year (more, if they are ambitious) to
read aloud.
Families can choose, for example, to
examine Jewish tradition through the
eyes of Sherlock Holmes in "The Sign of
Four Questions" or experience the exo-
dus from Casablanca in "Play It Again,
Moses" or let Hermione Granger explain
the magic of the 10 Plagues in "Harry
Potter and the Deathly Horseradish:'
($13.50 at amazon.com.) ❑
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