After 14 years reviewing haggadahs, our expert dishes on the good, bad and wacky
Jay Michaelson has been reviewing Passover haggadahs for the Forward for 14 years. Why are there new versions each year of a ritual that has been around for millennia? Well, that’s a different question, but he has become an expert guide to the guides to the Seder. If that sounds a bit convoluted, well, that’s the issue; the whole point of a haggadah is to take its users through the ritual of the Passover Seder. If it manages to relate the Passover story to our current life, or brings other meaningful texts, interpretations or poems, then that’s a bonus — but first and foremost, it nee...