Several years ago I became dissatisfied with the haggadah my family had always used for Pesach. I wanted something that moved freely between traditional texts and contemporary poetry, written and assembled with a progressive spirit but usable by Jews (and non-Jews) across the political spectrum. I wanted something that would draw seder participants in, offering opportunities to speak singular fears and dreams as well as chances to sing together and pray together.
Out of that liturgical longing arose what has come to be one of my favorite recurring projects: writing, editing, and assembling a haggadah for Pesach.
PDF DownloadSix fantastic artists donated their work to this year’s version of the haggadah: Beth Budwig, Emily Cooper, Howard Cruse, Allan Hollander and Allison Kent, and Yaron Livay (whose gorgeous woodcut print graces the cover). My deep thanks go to them for beautifying this labor of love with the work of their hands. (You can read more about them here, and can read more about the haggadah here.)
Feel free to download it and use it — either at your own Passover seder, or as a jumping-off point for creating your own haggadah. May your celebration of the festival of freedom be joyful!
Comments (7)
I haven’t even looked at the haggadah yet, but i love that its posted for free and has such a good vibe about it. Thanks!
What a beautiful publication. I’ve been looking for a haggadah that’s a bit different from the one we always use and I will use your one this year. Thankyou!
Thanks for the kind words, Adam and David! I welcome feedback of all kinds, so if you have thoughts about the haggadah, please feel free to comment on my blog or to email me. I release a new version every year or two…
BS”D
You rock. I wish my computer & printer were talking.
Thank you for this beautiful present!
All the best to you.
Kalanit
thank you for the beautifully written and illustrated work. A group of 40-50 of us will be using it at a second night seder. we are refugees from corporate Judaism so somewhat identify with the velveteen, but we know too we are loved enough to be real Jews without doubt.
Thanks for making this available and so convenient! This is worth sharing.
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[...] Then there’s Velveteen Rabbi�s Haggadah for Pesach Several years ago I became dissatisfied with the haggadah my family had always used for Pesach. I wanted something that moved freely between traditional texts and contemporary poetry, written and assembled with a progressive spirit but usable by Jews (and non-Jews) across the political spectrum. I wanted something that would draw seder participants in, offering opportunities to speak singular fears and dreams as well as chances to sing together and pray together. [...]