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Passover Haggadah
The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel a collaboration between acclaimed Batman comics creator and Jewish cartoonist Jordan B. “Gorf” Gorfinkel, Koren Publishers, and Israeli artist Erez Zadok. Using contemporary, vibrant illustrations, The Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel integrates a brand-new, modern translation into sophisticated and fun sequential art that brings the epic Exodus story to life. The result of extensive historical and linguistic research, every gorgeous panel imbues the classic narrative with renewed relevance and excitement.
The graphic novel pages are presented alongside the unabridged, traditional Seder service text, in Hebrew and transliteration, and accompanied by “how to” instructional cartoons depicting all of the rituals, as celebrated every year for the last 4000 years in Jewish homes around the world. This historic publication will appeal to family members and guests of multiple generations and diverse backgrounds. There’s no more universal medium for telling heroic stories, one that bridges all cultures, faiths and languages, than the sequential art form of the graphic novel—itself a Jewish innovation.
An artistic and educational milestone, the Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel will inspire and engage everyone on Passover night for many years to come.
The graphic novel pages are presented alongside the unabridged, traditional Seder service text, in Hebrew and transliteration, and accompanied by “how to” instructional cartoons depicting all of the rituals, as celebrated every year for the last 4000 years in Jewish homes around the world. This historic publication will appeal to family members and guests of multiple generations and diverse backgrounds. There’s no more universal medium for telling heroic stories, one that bridges all cultures, faiths and languages, than the sequential art form of the graphic novel—itself a Jewish innovation.
An artistic and educational milestone, the Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel will inspire and engage everyone on Passover night for many years to come.
169 pages, Hardcover
First published January 18, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 28, 2019
My parents got this as a gift from one of the authors, so I used it at the seder this year. The art is phenomenal and I loved every second I spent looking at and reading it. This is my new favorite haggadah for sure.
March 18, 2019
This haggadah - nay, monumental piece of incredible labor and hard work - is quite beautiful - nay, gorgeous - deserving of its high ranking on Amazon, and will - by virtue of its elegance and arresting visuals - glue children to the seder table, and supplement nicely the 87 other Maxwell House Haggadahs lying around.
It's also fully practical, brings me back to my comic-book-loving youth, and is filled not just with striking images, but emotional ones as well, and an added touch that is remarkable is that many of the visual renditions of the text also include the midrashic interpretations of various passages. Chad Gadya is the exemplar creation in this work for me.
Vehamayvin yavin: Excelsior!
It's also fully practical, brings me back to my comic-book-loving youth, and is filled not just with striking images, but emotional ones as well, and an added touch that is remarkable is that many of the visual renditions of the text also include the midrashic interpretations of various passages. Chad Gadya is the exemplar creation in this work for me.
Vehamayvin yavin: Excelsior!
March 17, 2019
This is a beautiful haggadah. The comic illustrations add a wonderful commentary to the full, traditional text. Transliteration provides access to the songs and prayers for those who can’t read Hebrew comfortably. A great haggadah to us fr everyone at your seder or just for you.
April 12, 2019
A Beautiful Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel
Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Erez Zadok’s 2019 graphic Haggadah will delight parents and children. There are humorous comics explaining the Haggadah and Seder ceremonies in about half of the book’s 170 pages with the chad gadya, the Haggadah’s goat, explaining the Seder practices to his hungry impatient daughter. At one point, when the vegetable karpas is served near the onset of the Seder, the goat’s daughter excitingly says, “Finally! Something to eat,” while her brother remarks more wisely, “Don’t get too excited, it is only veggies.” On another occasion, the goat’s son states, “On Passover our custom is to treat everyone as a king,” and his daughter objects, “You mean queen.”
The book contains the full unabridged authentic text. Everything the family needs is in the book. There is the Hebrew, a transliteration into English letters, full instructions whenever a Seder ritual needs to be performed, and explanations of what is done, what is used, and what it signifies. When biblical verses are quoted the Haggadah gives the source. Sometimes an additional new explanation is added to the traditional one, such as the z’roa, shank bone, not only reminding the family of the Pascal lamb sacrificed on the holiday when the temple existed, but “it looks like an outstretched arm and signifies the eternal bond between us and God.” Also, the breaking of the middle matzah is not only explained that one piece is needed to eat when we begin the festive meal and the other piece is used in a game to keep the interest of the children awake, for they will hide it and get rewarded for returning it. The Haggadah adds, we break the matzah “as a people, we must be broken to be rebuilt.” Additionally, eating and drinking after the Seder is forbidden because “we want the tastes of liberation and unity to linger as long as possible.”
There are drawings showing the ancient Israelite history, Egyptian slavery, the plagues, and much more. The drawings of the people show white and black Israelites in ancient times and today, and many men and boys today with yarmulkes, some without.
The Haggadah is filled with clever ideas. When it speaks of God passing judgment on those who hurt Jews, it shows a drawing of the trial of Adolf Eichmann. When Genesis 15:13-14 is quoted “and then they will leave with great wealth,” the drawing is of a man in a tallit holding a baby who is being circumcised.
The last page of the Haggadah contains one of the clever innovative ideas, a six-panel cartoon: “The Torah speaks of Four Types of Generations. One that is astute. One that is rebellious. One that is innocent. And one. One, One that will light the way.” The last, a grandmother showing her granddaughter how the candles are lit before the Shabbat.
Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Erez Zadok’s 2019 graphic Haggadah will delight parents and children. There are humorous comics explaining the Haggadah and Seder ceremonies in about half of the book’s 170 pages with the chad gadya, the Haggadah’s goat, explaining the Seder practices to his hungry impatient daughter. At one point, when the vegetable karpas is served near the onset of the Seder, the goat’s daughter excitingly says, “Finally! Something to eat,” while her brother remarks more wisely, “Don’t get too excited, it is only veggies.” On another occasion, the goat’s son states, “On Passover our custom is to treat everyone as a king,” and his daughter objects, “You mean queen.”
The book contains the full unabridged authentic text. Everything the family needs is in the book. There is the Hebrew, a transliteration into English letters, full instructions whenever a Seder ritual needs to be performed, and explanations of what is done, what is used, and what it signifies. When biblical verses are quoted the Haggadah gives the source. Sometimes an additional new explanation is added to the traditional one, such as the z’roa, shank bone, not only reminding the family of the Pascal lamb sacrificed on the holiday when the temple existed, but “it looks like an outstretched arm and signifies the eternal bond between us and God.” Also, the breaking of the middle matzah is not only explained that one piece is needed to eat when we begin the festive meal and the other piece is used in a game to keep the interest of the children awake, for they will hide it and get rewarded for returning it. The Haggadah adds, we break the matzah “as a people, we must be broken to be rebuilt.” Additionally, eating and drinking after the Seder is forbidden because “we want the tastes of liberation and unity to linger as long as possible.”
There are drawings showing the ancient Israelite history, Egyptian slavery, the plagues, and much more. The drawings of the people show white and black Israelites in ancient times and today, and many men and boys today with yarmulkes, some without.
The Haggadah is filled with clever ideas. When it speaks of God passing judgment on those who hurt Jews, it shows a drawing of the trial of Adolf Eichmann. When Genesis 15:13-14 is quoted “and then they will leave with great wealth,” the drawing is of a man in a tallit holding a baby who is being circumcised.
The last page of the Haggadah contains one of the clever innovative ideas, a six-panel cartoon: “The Torah speaks of Four Types of Generations. One that is astute. One that is rebellious. One that is innocent. And one. One, One that will light the way.” The last, a grandmother showing her granddaughter how the candles are lit before the Shabbat.
March 31, 2021
This Haggadah served to entice both children and adults at the seder table. It engaged all people of all religious backgrounds; nonaffiliated, Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox. The graphic art is drawn beautifully like DC/Marvel comic book art. Jordan Gorfinkel was an editor at DC Comics for nearly a decade where he managed the Batman franchise. Women are represented equally to men. The illustrations are drawn with an understanding of the laws of Tzniut. The question of where women are in the Haggadah never materializes since this Haggadah depicts women's participation in every aspect of the night and our history. There is a layered historical approach that covers the exodus, the temple, and modern times in Israel and America. Ritual instructions are clearly stated at each juncture, including when to lean or not lean while eating, covering or uncovering the matzah, and the lifting of the seder plate. I recommend buying multiple copies of the Haggadah to foster discussion among seder participants about the illustrations.
April 21, 2019
A recipe for a new haggadah: Take the traditional Hebrew text and add transliteration and translation. Wait, you say, that sounds like about 1,000 other haggadot. Ah, I’m not done yet: there are two more ingredients, ones that make this haggadah different from all other haggadot. Combine the previous ingredients with humorous pictorial presentations that explain what to do during a seder and awesome graphics of the story of the Exodus. That describes the “Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel” by Jordan B. Gorfinkel, creator and writer; Erez Zadok, artist, and David Olivestone, translator (Koren Publishers Jerusalem and Avalanche Comics Entertainment).
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
See the rest of my review at http://www.thereportergroup.org/Artic...
March 31, 2021
I'm so incredibly happy I bought this.
I saw this when it was a kickstarter but didn't buy then. I've had my eye on it but finally made the splurged to get this ($18, but still).
This is a gorgeous book. It has the hebrew, english and transliterated for the haggadah. The art is breathtaking and I teared up many times reading through it. I'm pretty orthodox, but this gave me even more appreciation for our exodus.
I also wanted to support jewish artists and publishers. I highly recommend this book. I was able to read and understand even more. My family was asking me to pass it around it during seder to read the book too. I don't understand the goats? lambs? But still, surely a keeper!
I saw this when it was a kickstarter but didn't buy then. I've had my eye on it but finally made the splurged to get this ($18, but still).
This is a gorgeous book. It has the hebrew, english and transliterated for the haggadah. The art is breathtaking and I teared up many times reading through it. I'm pretty orthodox, but this gave me even more appreciation for our exodus.
I also wanted to support jewish artists and publishers. I highly recommend this book. I was able to read and understand even more. My family was asking me to pass it around it during seder to read the book too. I don't understand the goats? lambs? But still, surely a keeper!
April 12, 2020
I bought this in no small part because Amazon said it would arrive before Passover. But I was delighted by it. The Hebrew is well punctuated, the transliteration actually reads like what it sounds like in Hebrew, and the graphic novel images were surprisingly moving. The images were gender- and racially inclusive, diverse, and emotionally powerful.
April 20, 2019
amazing edition of the haggadah. It brings the event to our times
April 25, 2019
The illustrations served to tell the story, alongside the actual text of the haggadah. Some panels were so moving that I was brought to tears.
Very worthwhile!
Very worthwhile!
March 8, 2020
GENIUS! What a great way to engage kids (and adults!) in reading the haggadah. This beautiful offering has just given the seder a boost. I can't wait for Pesach.
April 11, 2020
Due to coronavirus and the shutdown, we had to have our seder at home on our own and so we needed a Haggadah. Since my husband and I love comic books, when I saw this I had to get it. It's great. We love the artwork and the connections to modern day. I especially like the cover showing a variety of people of different ages and from different eras walking through the parting of the Red Sea.
For someone more used to the 30 minute Seder, this is a serious Haggadah. With a not yet two year old, we stuck more to the highlights, but we'll do more as the years go by. It has English, Hebrew, and the transliteration, but at times, the English is in the graphic part, which threw me off a bit, but that was more because of the flipping through and I imagine won't be much of an issue reading it straight through.
For someone more used to the 30 minute Seder, this is a serious Haggadah. With a not yet two year old, we stuck more to the highlights, but we'll do more as the years go by. It has English, Hebrew, and the transliteration, but at times, the English is in the graphic part, which threw me off a bit, but that was more because of the flipping through and I imagine won't be much of an issue reading it straight through.
April 21, 2019
Fabulously done! Really clear print of all the traditional text, super clear instructions, and a full translation of the text, often preferring the sense of the phrases rather than word for word. The English translation is usually part of the graphic representation of what is going on, so follows the authors' interpretation. Every paragraph gets its own spread, allowing some sections that don't normally to get full focus.
My 8yo took it for the seder, but I read it from cover to cover the next day, and enjoyed it thoroughly. While it has plenty of imagery drawing parallels to 20th century atrocities, these do not show the violence in full, making it far more suitable for children than the graphic haggada of about 20 years ago that revelled in portraying horrific violence in full. This one is more a game for the student of history, to find all the references.
My 8yo took it for the seder, but I read it from cover to cover the next day, and enjoyed it thoroughly. While it has plenty of imagery drawing parallels to 20th century atrocities, these do not show the violence in full, making it far more suitable for children than the graphic haggada of about 20 years ago that revelled in portraying horrific violence in full. This one is more a game for the student of history, to find all the references.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews