From sumptuous engravings to stick-figure sketches, Passover Haggadahs − and their art − have been evolving for centuries

• The Jewish festival of Passover recalls the biblical story of the Israelites enslaved by Egypt and their miraculous escape.
• Every year, a written guide known as a “Haggadah” is read at the Seder table.
• The core text comprises a description of ritual foods, the story of the Exodus, blessings, commentaries, hymns and songs.

An illustrated classic

One of the greatest examples our library has of this blending of cultures was printed in Amsterdam in 1695.

• The Amsterdam Haggadah was illustrated by Abraham Bar Yaakov, a German pastor who converted to Judaism.
• In addition, he incorporated a pull-out map of the route of the Exodus and an imaginative rendering of the Temple in Jerusalem.
• The text, traditionally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, included instructions in Yiddish and Ladino, the everyday languages for Jews in Europe.
• The Amsterdam Haggadah proved to be incredibly influential on later versions, with its illustrations copied into the modern era.

A Haggadah for everyone

• Modern Haggadah illustrations also reflected developments in the art world.
• In 1920s Berlin, a Jewish art teacher, Otto Geismar, reinterpreted the story of the Exodus using plain, black-and-white, modernist “stick figures” – another Haggadah in our collection.

• Geismar even injected elements of humor: A child is shown asleep at the table, and in another scene a family of stick figures is engaged in animated conversation and debate.
• In his depictions of ancient Israelite slaves, stick figures appear especially burdened with heavy loads on their backs.

Wine – and coffee

• Meanwhile, some suppliers sensed an opportunity to adapt it for their own needs.
• Owner Sam Schapiro savvily linked his products to the Seder, during which participants drink four small cups of sacramental wine.
• Wine, seen at this point as a luxury item, also symbolized freedom.

• Schapiro’s Haggadah fulfilled the commandment to relate the story of the Exodus for a new generation – but the opening pages also provide a tribute in Yiddish to Sam Schapiro’s 40-year-old company.
• Here Schapiro’s is praised for being the place where religious men and intellectuals alike could get together over a good glass of wine.

Rebecca J.W. Jefferson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.