APRIL 7 • 2022 | 37

PASSOVER

I

f coffee is made from beans, 
and beans are prohibited 
during Passover, does that 
mean we would have to go 
uncaffinated during the week-
long holiday?
In the 1920s, this was a seri-
ous question because some 
mistakenly thought coffee beans 
were legumes. They are not. 
Still, this created a problem for 
Maxwell House because Jewish 
customers weren’t buying coffee 
during Passover. 
To help sales, the company 
enlisted the help of Joseph 
Jacobs, an advertising execu-
tive known for marketing to 
the Jewish community. Jacobs 
consulted with a rabbi who 
certified the coffee kosher 
for Passover, thus launching 
Maxwell House into one of the 
longest and arguably one of 
the most effective direct mar-
keting campaigns ever. 
At the time, ads in Jewish 
newspapers stated, “It is a mitz-
vah to tell you that this Passover 
you won’t have to turn down the 
pleasure of your favorite drink. 
For Maxwell House Coffee is 
kosher for Passover.
”
Jacobs convinced the coffee 
maker to publish a branded 
Haggadah based on the ini-
tial success. First printed 90 
years ago, the book became 

one of the most widely used 
Haggadot in America. There 
are more than 60 million cop-
ies in print, and a half-million 
more published each year. 
Teri Falcon of Oak Park 
treasures the 25 or so Maxwell 
House Haggadot she and her 
family consistently use. The 
booklets belonged to her grand-
parents. When they stopped 
hosting seders, she inherited 
them. Her grandparents have 
since passed away, but the 
Haggadot that probably came 

from what was once a Farmer 
Jack grocery store at 10 Mile 
and Coolidge will forever grace 
her Passover table. 
Some are missing pages; 
others are held together with 
duct tape. Familiarity with the 
text and fond memories evoked 
from reading the wine-stained 
pages are some of the reasons 
Falcon won’t give them up. 
When she was gifted a set of 
Haggadot not published by the 
coffee maker, set a set Haggadot 
not published by the coffee 

maker, she donated them. 
 Elie Rosenfeld, CEO of Joseph 
Jacobs Advertising, said com-
fort and nostalgia are a few 
reasons the Haggadot are still 
widely used. 
“It allows a family to do 
Passover in a way that they are 
comfortable. It doesn’t preach. 
It’s simplistic and lets the family 
make the seder their own. It 
doesn’t bring in anything extra. 
It just gives you the most basic 
aspects of what the seder needs 

The Maxwell House Haggadah plays 
a role in many families’ seders.

A Familiar 
Tradition

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE: The Falcon family celebrate their seder with the 
Maxwell House Haggadah. RIGHT: A 2019 limited edition 
of the Maxwell House Haggadah with a shout-out to the 
Amazon Prime TV show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FALCON FAMILY

continued on page 39

