Passover is just around the corner, so on March 26, 2018, I published the following post on Book Riot.
10 Things You Need to Know about the Sarajevo Haggadah
Every year on Passover Jewish families all over the world gather ’round to celebrate and commemorate the Exodus from Egypt. At the center of this annual celebration is taking turns reading from a book called a haggadah. The word haggadah comes from the Hebrew root HGD, which means “to tell,” which is exactly the purpose of the Passover celebration–to tell the story of the Jews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, also known as the Exodus.
Because haggadot are not considered holy texts, but rather instruction materials, over time they have developed into beautiful artifacts of book art. And nowhere were such beautiful haggadots made as in the Spanish city of Barcelona during the Middle Ages. And of these Barcelona haggadots, few can compare to the wonder and splendor of a book today known as the Sarajevo Haggadah.
Here are ten things you need to know about the Sarajevo Haggadah.
If you wish to read the post in its entirety, please click here.
In the words of my friend, the Australian, I shall return.