With the new moon of Nisan comes the realization that it's time to spread the word about the Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah for Pesach again!
Edited in 2009 to add: this post describes an older version of the text. The latest version of the haggadah is available at velveteenrabbi.com/VRHaggadah.pdf [pdf]; in future years, new versions will have the same filename and will be located at the same URL.
I'm not releasing a new version of the haggadah this year. There are still things I'd like to fix and update for version 6 (notably, now that I own Mellel, I'd like to recreate the file in Mellel so that I can actually type and edit the Hebrew from right-to-left, instead of copying it laboriously backwards! -- and I'm always finding music, poetry, and interesting interpretations to add) but even so I'm deeply happy with this haggadah, and am excited to use it again in my own two seders this year.
Even more exciting, of course, is the knowledge that it will be used in so many other homes -- hopefully allowing some of what I adore in this holiday to shine in other lives.
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The Velveteen Rabbi's Haggadah for Pesach, version 5.0 [.pdf download]
Praise for this version of the haggadah:
I have to tell you this was the most meaningful, thoughtful seder in memory. We went on until 2:30am, talking, sharing, thinking about liberation for the world and sharing what liberation we hope for our individual lives in the coming year... The haggadah provided a wonderful occasion for this communal introspection. Beautiful. Really. -- Lois C., France.
We had a wonderful time! And we learned so much! ... [We were] nine people and one British pointer, one of whom -- the half-Chinese, half-Lithuanian whole Hawaiian Buddhist Jew -- called her father in Greece while driving here to prepare herself -- she's 30 years old and this was her FIRST seder, ever! -- Tandy S., NC.
As soon as I read through it, I was impressed with your ability to meld traditional text ("with a mighty hand and outstretched arm") with more contemporary, gender-appropriate, and open-minded translation and commentary...A friend even asked to take a copy home because she so enjoyed the various psalms and other selections you included. -- Lena S., IL.
As always, my endless thanks go to everyone who has helped with this project -- especially the six illustrators who donated original artwork last year. Download, read, share, enjoy -- and if you use it, or if it inspires you to create your own, let me know!
