Do you like to choose a new haggadah for Pesach? Or do you prefer to use the same one each year? A few years ago I felt that I was rolling into Pesach without being particularly prepared or inspired. I was peeling lots of potatoes and cooking my specialties (namely, broccoli kugel and blondies) but feeling intimidated at the thought of sitting down to the Seder. Rummaging through our Pesach closet a couple days before Yom Tov (everyone’s got a Pesach closet, no?), I found a copy of The Making of a Nation, Rav Avigdor Miller ztz”l’s haggadah. I skimmed through a few pages and was hooked. I realized that learning a fresh perspective was really all it took to help me feel connected to Pesach in a meaningful way.
Last year I bought the Reb Moshe Haggadah. I’m still deciding whether to buy a new one for this year, too, or continue with last year’s because there’s still plenty inside that I haven’t read. (If you were thinking about it, the Rabbi Miller haggadah has more in the way of commentary and the Reb Moshe haggadah has more stories.)
I might just have a new Pesach minhag on my hands.
These haggadahs looked interesting to me when I browsed the bookstore:
The Sephardic Heritage Haggadah, by Rabbi Eli Mansour, a large volume full of short divrei Torah.
The Hirsch Haggadah, with commentary and essays on Pesach by Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch ztz”l.
And I asked a friend for recommendations. She’s always so spot-on in her suggestions so I’m happy to share what she told me:
The Illuminated Haggadah, by Rabbi Yonah Weinrib. Stunning pictures, beautiful divrei Torah incorporated.
Anah Dodi by R’ Dovid Feinstein is the classic we go to every year. It looks typical enough, but has just the right proportion of divrei Torah to text to keep you moving through the Seder. You can actually read the vertlach as you go along without falling behind.
Maaseh Nissim is the best Hebrew one around, hands down. Several hundred years old, written by the major acharon the Nesivos, it has all the classic questions with brilliantly simple answers in easy Hebrew (and there is a translation, which is the edition I linked to here).
I hope these suggestions are helpful! Any others you’d recommend?
(Featured image: detail from The Illuminated Haggadah by Rabbi Yonah Weinrib)
