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The Jonathan Sacks Haggada
Hebrew and English Text with New Essays and Commentary

Publication Date: 4 March 2003

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, during his tenure as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth in the United Kingdom, wrote this refreshing and insightful commentary to the Koren Haggadah, together with illuminating essays on the themes and motifs of Pesach, the Festival of Freedom.

Sensitively translated, the traditional texts are carefully balanced alongside the Chief Rabbi's contemporary ideas, in a modern and user-friendly design. With new interpretations and in-depth analyses of the Passover liturgy and rituals, Rabbi Sacks' style is engaging, intelligent, at times daring in its innovation, and always inspiring.


At the other end of the book from the Haggadah itself, with its English translation and accompanying commentary, are Jonathan Sacks' inspiring and often challenging essays. These include titles as diverse as 'Pesach, Freud, and Jewish Identity' and 'Pesach and the Rebirth of Israel'. Topics vary from the contrasting natures of ancient Egypt and nascent Israel, to the role of women in the Exodus, and even posit 'The Unasked Question'.

The role of Judaism and of Jews in the building of modern civilisation is a recurring theme, and time and again Jonathan Sacks' sensible, sensitive approach brings new insights into the most familiar things.

With piercing insights into the Jewish story, and into the philosophy of leadership and nation-building, the Chief Rabbi's Haggadah is a thought-provoking and essential companion at the Seder table.


Also available in

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quotemarks
Profound, spontaneous, and generous.
The Guardian
Draw­ing upon clas­si­cal rab­binic com­men­taries, Eng­lish writ­ers and philoso­phers, as well as Hasidic teach­ings, this Hag­gadah will pro­vide hours of fruit­ful dis­cus­sion and inspi­ra­tion for many Passovers.
Wallace Greene, Ph.D., Jewish Book Council
Passover fits beautifully into Sacks’ counter-Platonic ideal of embracing difference. Like Michael Walzer, Sacks highlights the way in which the exodus has inspired numerous revolutions across the globe, and throughout history.
David J. Wolpe, Jewish Review of Books
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ contributions to Jewish thought are massive and breathtaking. They span works of philosophy, parshanut, history, and homiletics, along with commentaries on the Siddur, Mahzor, and Haggada.
Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought
Rabbi Sacks’ Haggada, with its poignant short commentary and its impressive collected essays, is not only a guiding document for the Seder night. It offers a lesson in what the ideal religious family and home should be through the lens of Passover: an interlocked network of relationships and space, guided by a majestic story, that express godliness, Jewish continuity, openness, empathy, security, justice, kindness and, most of all, provides the warm embrace of love.
Dr Erica Brown