JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (JPS...

JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (JPS Commentary) | Joseph Tabory | Uncovering the Origins of the Passover Seder

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	JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (JPS Commentary) Joseph Tabory Jewish Publication Society of America, 2008 - 154 pages average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Passover haggadah enjoys an unrivaled place in Jewish culture, both religious and secular. And of all the classic Jewish books, the haggadah is the one most "alive" today. Jews continue to rewrite, revise, and add to its text, recasting it so that it remains relevant to their lives.

In this new volume in the JPS Commentary collection, Joseph Tabory, one of the world's leading authorities on the history of the haggadah, traces the development of the seder and the haggadah through the ages.

The book features an extended introduction by Tabory, the classic Hebrew haggadah text side by side with its English translation, and Tabory's clear and insightful critical-historical commentary.

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Looking Within Passover

Tabory, Joseph."JPS Commentary on The Hagaddah: Historical Introduction, Translation and Commentary", Jewish Publication Society, 2008.

Looking Within Passover

Amos Lassen

It is time that we have a convenient historical and critical commentary on one of the most beloved of Jewish holidays, Passover or Pesach. Joseph Tabory has compiled a wonderful work on the Haggadah, the little book that tells the big story. Every year as we sit down to the Passover Seder, we try to bring a new life to our story of freedom without even analyzing the one that we have and I do not think that many of us venture far past the Haggadah to find out more than is written there. This JPS commentary on the Haggadah helps in almost every way to look at the history behind the story and it is nicely arranged in one convenient volume.
Nothing can compete with the Hagaddah; it seems to be as much a part of Jewish life as does the Torah. Everyone seems to know of the Haggadah and it holds a revered place in the Jewish heart. We continue to revise it, to add to it, to change its focus in order for it to retain its relevance. But nothing is ever as good as the original and it has been around for a very long time.
Tabory not only looks at the Haggadah but at the holiday of Passover itself. He gives us the ways in which the Seder has developed and changed as well as the history of the Haggadah through time.
The Haggadah is our history as it tells the story of the exodus fro the bondage of Egypt; it is the story of freedom, of Jewish liberation and it marks our deed to the land of Israel. How many of us are aware of from where the text of the Haggadah came and how did it develop to its present format? Tabory's commentary will answer some of those questions. Tabory's approach is both critical and scholarly as well as historical, He gives us a wonderful essay on the Haggadah and then in the same book we have the Hebrew and Aramaic text with a translation into contemporary English. There are also illustrations from various editions of the Hagaddah.
\ I am a bit sorry, however, that there is not a little more history and I wish that the commentary would appear alongside the actual text and there are actually sections with no commentary at all. From my own experience I think that given a piece of writing about the Jews, commentary will always ensue and I do not see how there could possibly no commentary on certain sections. Surely there are minds contemplating every word in the Haggadah just as we do today at my Torah study class or in services on Saturday morning. But then again we may be overly critical. The Haggadah is a book that seems to demand being talked about so there is bound to be new commentary every time it is read.
One critic wrote that Tabory's commentary was a bit too scholarly and too cut and dry. I disagree and feel that if we use the commentary as a point of entry into discussion, we can formulate even more commentary.
There is no question in my mind that this book fills a need and it is beautifully put together. Perhaps it will bring about even more commentaries. If I have a complaint about this wonderful addition to Jewish scholarship it is that I did not get my copy until Seder has been over for a few days but at least that gives me time to plan how I will use it for next year.

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Uncovering the Origins of the Passover Seder

Each year at Passover dinners called Seders, Jews around the world recite a traditional Hebrew text (with some Aramaic), handed down from generation to generation for more than a millennium. That text, called the Haggadah, tells the story of the Exodus from Egyptian bondage. How and when did this text develop? This new JPS commentary on the Haggadah seeks to answer that question.

Taking a predominantly historical and scholarly approach, the JPS Commentary on the Haggadah reviews how the Haggadah came to be the way that it is. The book sets forth an extensive essay on the Haggadah. It follows with the traditional Hebrew text along with an English translation in a parallel column. Some footnotes explain items in the text. Finally, 13 pages of black-and-white illustrations show selected pages from historic Haggadah editions.

The JPS Commentary on the Haggadah provides a worthy addition to the outstanding and growing Jewish Publication Society library of commentaries, which include the JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text With the New Jps Translation (J P S Torah Commentary), Leviticus: The Traditional Hebrew Text With the New Jps Translation (J P S Torah Commentary), The Jps Torah Commentary: Numbers : The Traditional Hebrew Text With the New Jps Translation (J P S Torah Commentary), The Jps Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy : The Traditional Hebrew Text With the New Jps Translation (J P S Torah Commentary), JPS Commentary on Jonah, Jps Commentary on Esther (JPS Bible Commentary), Ecclesiastes: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation (The Jps Bible Commentary), and Bible Commentary/Haftarot. Many of these volumes, particularly Milgrom's Numbers, Tigay's Deuteronomy, and Fishbane's Haftarot, are without peer for authority and completeness.

Fans of the series may share my disappointment that the JPS Commentary on the Haggadah places so much of its analysis in the 69-page introductory essay, rather than in the footnotes to the text. In contrast to the usual volume in the JPS Commentary series, the introductory essay in the JPS Commentary on the Haggadah is longer than the annotated text itself. Many pages of the Haggadah text pass without any annotation at all. And not infrequently, footnotes to the Haggadah text merely refer the reader to discussions in the introductory essay. Especially with a text like the Haggadah, which Jews traditionally discuss and expound while reading, it would have been better to present more of the analysis in footnotes accompanying the traditional text.

And observant Jews may find the scholarly point of view of the JPS Commentary on the Haggadah somewhat antiseptic. The author appears to treat exposition of the Haggadah in the Mishnah and the Talmud more as guides to musty history than as still valid instructions for a living religion's observance. Observant Jewish readers seeking an exposition of the traditional text might do better to start with a Haggadah from the Orthodox Artscroll Publishing Company's library, like the fine The Schottenstein Edition: The Interlinear Haggadah: The Passover Haggadah, with an Interlinear Translation, Instructions and Comments.

But these are just quibbles. The Jewish Publication Society helps to fill a substantial void with this handsome commentary on this important text. One can hope that the JPS will continue to expand its library of commentaries on holy texts, perhaps to add a commentary on the traditional Jewish prayer book (along the lines of the fine work Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals).

Each year with the Passover Seder, Jews seek to bring new life to their historical liberation story. The JPS Commentary on the Haggadah helps nicely to uncover the history of that history.

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Great addition to a Jewish home

I have several Haggadahs. You never know what you'll pick up of interest. It's always informative to read the different commentaries and after all, the seder is not just supposed to be a great meal but a great learning experience. This JPS Haggadah is a wonderful tool. It is easy to read. It is loaded with fascinating, well written, and well researched historical information on Passover and the seder service. Did you know that there originally only three questions? Did you know there were entire prayer sections removed from the service? Did you know Karpas was an anagram? Did you know why the put nuts in Charoset? Give you a hint... it has to do with fighting a hangover! The service itself is beautifully written with great commentaries. Bravo to JPS and all involved. Well worth a look.

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JPS Haggadah Commentary

This is a very scholarly and well written book. I quoted from it rather extensively in the discussion surrounding our Passover Seder.

JPS Commentary on the Haggadah

A valuable work for those interested in the history of the development of the Haggadah. I found the historical introduction fascinating. However, the commentary on the actual Haggadah is very limited and contains little if anything of a spiritual nature. A nice book to read before Passover,but not particularly useful at the seder table.

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