Whether your Seder night lasts two hours, or goes until the next morning, there always seems to never be enough time to properly read through your Hagaddah. And with a plethora of Jewish voices and pedagogical methods in modern Jewish publishing, there surely is not enough time to get through all the Hagaddot you want to read in just those two nights. While many can’t handle eating Matzah Brie for a long and looming 8 days, at least there is plenty of time to explore all those Hagaddot you had to forgo on Seder night. This year, authors and publishers are bringing the age old Hagaddah to the modern Jew. With interactive mobile apps, contemporary, fresh graphics and relevant commentaries, there surely is enough Hagaddot to go around. Whether you safely stick with Maxwell, or take up three seats next to you with Sefarim Sale Hagaddah purchases, here are a few of The Observer Staff picks for 2014.
Bronfman Haggaddah for Ipad and Iphone
By Edgar Bronfman
Like the Seder night, this Hagaddah is a little different. The 128-page hardcover Hagaddah will be available for your mobile and tablet device. This Hagaddah is complete with contemporary leanings, including pieces from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Fredrick Douglass. Watercolor illustrations are drawn by Bronfman’s wife, Jan Aronson. This year, Rusty Brick, an app developer that has many other Judaic apps, has created the tech version of the Bronfman, with video performances of popular Seder songs, a glossary of featured words, and an interview with the author and illustrator couple. Bronfman calls the app, “the next natural progression” of Haggadot.
Available on iTunes for $9.
JDate Hagaddah App
JDate has also gone Hagadah, and mobile! With a Chametz lease agreement, a free Jdate subscription when you find the afikoman, and Jdate profile for Passover key players, this Hagaddah will keep you entertained for all eight days and well into the omer. It even features a fully functionally Seder guide as well!
Available on ITunes for free.
Escape Velocity, a Post-Apocalyptic Hagaddah
By Stanley Aaron Lebovic
This fascinating Hagaddah is based on the premise that the Hagaddah text is almost as old as Pesach itself, but the ancient tale can still be relatable to modern man from a post-apocalyptic vantage point. With captivating, abstract graphics and a three-foot pull out section, this Hagaddah maximizes this powerful night that Jews use to express their faith.
“The Seder night then becomes the battleground where man’s stare must penetrate his own heart, and without missing a beat his heart must courageously return the gaze.” –Stanley Aaron Lebovic
Available on Amazon for $30.71
The Night that Unites
By Aaron Goldscheider, illustrated by Eitana Perlmutter
This Hagaddah combines the teaching, stories, and questions of great 20th century rabbinic thinkers, Rav Kook, Rav Soloveitchik, and Rav Shlomo Carlebach all in one book. It specifically relates the Exodus from Egypt to stories of the Holocaust and Land of Israel. The perfect mashup for the Kumzitz-loving Torah U’Madda Zionist.
Available on Amazon $28.68
Pop Hagaddah
By Melissa Berg
Pop art meets Passover! This lively and bright Hagaddah portrays the narrative of the 4 sons as puzzle pieces and the 10 plagues hop from page to page. Certainly a fresh and exciting update on the Hagaddah appropriate for all ages.
Available on Amazon for $23.62
Mosaic Hagaddah
By David Silberman
The innovative layout of this Hagaddah is meant to engage and motivate participation for all throughout the Seder. Encouraging deeper though and profound discussion, this book is attractively color-coded by many different themes that repeat themselves throughout the Seder night.
Available on Amazon for $24.85