Mar. 29, 2018
Haggadahs Blend Traditional, Modern Topics
This article originally appeared March 28, 2018 in The Jewish Exponent.
By Selah Maya Zighelboim
Haggadah means “telling,” and different versions of the Passover seder script, translated and retold in countless languages countless times, can certainly be telling about the state of the world.
And this year’s crop of new haggadahs and supplements are certainly no different. Though the reading of the haggadah is a custom thousands of years old, these are all relatively young, as they place this ancient story in a contemporary context.
Repair the World and Be’chol Lashon have released a haggadah supplement for this year’s Passover called Avadim Hayinu, “We were slaves,” which encourages seder participants to ask questions about how we are free today and how we are still struggling. They also released trivia cards meant to highlight the diversity of the Jewish people. These trivia cards provide information on different Jewish ethnic Passover traditions, such as the Middle Eastern custom of whipping seder attendees with scallions and the Tunisian custom of placing a bowl of live fish on the table.