BOOKS
Old Tales, Fresh Narratives Evoking past and future at the seder | By Leah Finkelshteyn
P
esach comes and goes,” Marcia Falk writes in Night of Beginnings, her new Haggadah, “always bringing with it something new: Although the narrative we tell is the same, the way we view and understand it changes each time we tell it.” The themes referenced by Falk— change, renewal and the resiliency of Jewish tradition—run through the latest crop of Passover titles. The various picture books explore different periods in Jewish history, from Inquisition-era Spain and 1950s Iran to contemporary times, while Haggadot provide feminist insights into the seder and the expanded Jewish family.
PHOTO BY ZION OZERI/COURTESY OF GEFEN PUBLISHING
Night of Beginnings: A Passover Haggadah By Marcia Falk (Jewish Publication Society) In her introduction to Night of Beginnings, her decadesin-the-making Haggadah, Marcia Falk reminds us that with “each spring— each Pesach season—we encounter newness in the world.” The acclaimed poet, liturgist and Judaic scholar skillfully traverses that delicate balance between modern perspective and traditional views, inviting readers to explore centuries-old seder night customs as well as her own fresh reflections on hymns, psalms and Passover motifs.
Springtime is evoked throughout Night of Beginnings, in the delicate floral illustrations drawn by Falk, her inclusion of biblical epigraphs like passages from the Song of Songs and the pastel colors of the pages themselves. And while the Haggadah follows the text’s classic structure, in Hebrew with English translations and transliterations, Falk replaces the traditional blessings with egalitarian versions and adds what she calls kavanot (Hebrew for directions or intentions), which take the form of prose poems, biblical phrases and meditations. Falk, one of the leaders of the early Jewish feminist movement and author of groundbreaking prayer books with alternative and supplementary prayers, brings her distinct sensibilities to the seder night. During Maggid, the storytelling portion of the seder, she includes the full biblical tale of the Exodus, replacing the compressed version found in most Haggadot in a way that uplifts the actions of the female characters, including Yocheved, Miriam, Bat Pharoah, Shifrah and Puah. As we recount the stories in the Haggadah, Falk writes, “we re-enact with all our senses—tasting, smelling, hearing, seeing, and touching—ushering the past into the present moment.”
Woman making matzah in Uzbekistan, from ‘Pictures Tell’
connection across both time and space.” Ozeri, who has spent decades chronicling far-flung Jewish communities, uses his photos to illustrate the classic Passover text, in Hebrew with English translations, as well as to emphasize the customs and observances that tie Jews together. There is a striking image of a woman making matzah in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, in 2002, and a 2009 photo of a woman teaching children to make matzah at a Detroit Jewish community center. There are images of Jews engaged with sacred texts, including a photo of a women’s study group in Seattle, Wash., in 2009, and another from
Pictures Tell: A Passover Haggadah By Zion Ozeri (Gefen Publishing) The seder, notes the preface to Pictures Tell, the new Haggadah from veteran Israeli photographer Zion Ozeri, “is a reflection of Jewish MARCH/APRIL 2022
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ONE BOOK, ONE HADASSAH Join us Thursday, April 7, at 7 p.m. ET, as Hadassah Magazine Executive Editor Lisa Hostein interviews award-winning author Lisa Barr about her latest novel, Woman on Fire. Part thriller and part historical fiction, with more than a touch of romance, the novel follows journalist Jules Roth as she tracks down an elusive masterpiece stolen by the Nazis more than half a century earlier. With its strong female characters and well-researched look into the art world, Barr’s page-turner explores provenance and ownership of Nazi-looted art and asks how far one should go to reclaim a family treasure (see review on page 58). This event is free and open to all. To register, go to hadassahmagazine.org/books.
