Haggadah and History

Nominated for the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1975, "Haggadah and History" is much more than a history of the Passover story. It is also a mirror of the last five centuries in Jewish history - as reflected in the haggadah itself. In an updated preface to the book, Yerushalmi recounts the story of the discovery of the Sarajevo Haggadah, which he says is "arguably the most renowned illuminated haggadah manuscript from the Middle Ages to have survived." Two hundred facsimile plates beautifully reproduced in this volume were taken from rare printed haggaddahs found in two of the world´s outstanding Judaica collections: the libraries of Harvard University and The Jewish Theological Seminary. This visual history is complemented by Yerushalmi´s fascinating historical introduction and richly detailed place descriptions. The result is an exceptional blend of scholarship and art. From medieval Italy to 20th-century Baghdad, from a Vichy concentration camp to an Israeli kibbutz, "Haggadah and History" tells the story of a people that only begins with the Exodus from Egypt.