Haggadah: A Celebration Of Freedom

Book Summary


Haggadah means "the legend". The escape from Egypt is the defining legend, the central drama of the Jews. Every nation coalesces around such an epic; its people project themselves into the story, aspire to the virtues of its heroes, and through periodic retelling or dramatization, transmit their values to the next generation. The traditional Haggadah offers a set of instructions for conducting the Passover service, interspersed with readings from the Bible, rabbinical commentaries, legends, prayers, hymns and children's songs. Written by men and addressing men, though, the traditional text has not historically offered much space for women to see themselves as fully involved in or spoken to by the powerful drama of human freedom articulated by the Haggadah. For Martha Shelley, creating this revisionist version of the Haggadah meant opening up that much-needed space for herself and other women within this tradition: "I wanted to write a Haggadah that addresses women, and not only Jewish women; one that speaks of our oppression and our victories -- and also of the darkness in our souls that collaborates with Pharaoh. A Haggadah with a Gaian sense of the divine. And a Haggadah that sings".

Book Details


Book Name Haggadah: A Celebration Of Freedom
Author Martha Shelley
Publisher Aunt Lute Books (Dec 1997)
ISBN 9781879960534
Pages 120
Language English
Price 372
 
 

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