Illuminated Haggadah: Featuring Medieval Illuminations from the Haggadah Collection of the British Library »

The Haggadah is one of the most beloved books in Judaism. It recounts the story of the Israelites' liberation from slavery and the Exodus from Egypt, a story that is celebrated each year in every Jewish home at the Passover Seder, whose liturgy the Haggadah contains. This Haggadah is illustrated with magnificent illuminations from medieval Haggadot in the renowned collection of the British Library. Both Ashkenazic and Sephardic in origin, the Haggadot produced herein are not pristine; they were not created to be kept in a cloister and studied by scholars. Rather their wine-stained pages and worn condition testify to the many seders at which they themselves were read by generations of Jews. With a commentary that both amplifies the traditional text and draws on the remarkable illustrative material, The Illuminated Haggadah is a tribute to the art of illumination and a profound celebration of the Feast of Freedom.