We can see two big green columns on the right hand page. We can also see lots of Hebrew writing.

Look closely, what can you see?

A Haggadah book is used at Seder meals during the festival of Passover. This Haggadah was created by the scribe Abraham Sopher in Ihringen, Germany in 1756.  Abraham Sopher was a very efficient and professional scribe who is also the illustrator and illuminator.  There are 27 parchment pages which are beautifully illustrated with water-colours. There is no owner recorded for this Haggadah.  An inscription in the Haggadah tells us that it was sold in a bookshop.  The inscription also tells us that the scribe, Abraham Sopher, made many other beautiful Haggadah books which he sold.  There are several languages in this Haggadah: German, Hebrew and Yiddish.

Look closely at the Haggadah, the pictures tell us how to prepare for Passover and for Seder night. The picture at the bottom of the right hand page is a man with a child and a candle inside a room. This refers to a traditional game played by parents with their children the night before Passover starts. During Passover you are not supposed to eat any leavened food, this food is known as Chametz. The night before Passover parents and their children search by candlelight for any Chametz that is left in the house. Often a parent hides a piece that the children can find.  Once the house is clean and has no Chametz left inside the family are ready for Passover to start.

Look closely at the pictures on the left hand page. These show the steps to follow on Seder night. There is a set order to follow on Seder night and this order has been the same for thousands of years. There are 12 drawings that link to the 12 instructions in the columns either side of the drawings. Remember Hebrew is read right to left, so read the right column top to bottom first and then the left column top to bottom.

We might wonder how long it took to make this Haggadah? We also might wonder if anyone ever used it during a Seder?

What do you wonder?

Object name: Haggadah

Date: 1756

Catalogue number: JM 639a

Material(s): leather and parchment

Size:

On display in the Jewish Museum? No

Passover (Pesach) is a spring festival that remembers the story of the Exodus. This story tells us how Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt from slavery to freedom.  To remember this story, Jewish people have a special meal and ceremony called a Seder. The word ‘Seder’ means order and there are many different steps to do in order to correctly celebrate. Seder happens on the first and sometimes also the second night of the festival of Passover. On that night family and friends gather together and tell each other the story of Moses, eat symbolic foods, and have a special meal together.