PASSOVER EDITION SECTION C PAGE 14
The most amazing thing about the Journey to Freedom Haggada is that it took this long to come up with such an strikingly obvious idea.
How much more apt a metaphor for Passover can one find than the modern experiences of Ethiopian Jewry?
By connecting the modern exodus of Ethiopian Jews in the 1980s and 1990s to the Biblical account of the Hebrews gaining freedom from Egyptian enslavement, the talented assembly of writers, artists, archivists and photographers who collaborate in this Haggadah have demonstrated powerfully how the great Jewish saga is not merely the stuff of ancient scripture, but a continuum that remains alive and vibrant in our own era.
Many of the prayers and commentaries between these covers are the creative fruits of the Ethiopian Jews themselves, and are translated here from Amharic to English and Hebrew.
Thus, Ethiopian Jews are now actively collaborating with their Jewish brethren in contributing to the observance of the Passover holiday, which not only brings their rich traditions into the Jewish mainstream but may, hopefully, help narrow the unfortunate cultural gap that still yawns between these disparate but similar Jewish populations.
Billed as the first-ever Haggadah that celebrates Ethiopian Jewish culture, Journey to Freedom is intended both for Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians. For the former, it should ideally provide pride and a sense of belonging; for the latter, a sense of connection with a long-lost, now rediscovered, sibling.
The book itself is lavish, a hallmark of Koren, a publishing house that has long specialized in elegant Judaic texts. Its typography and illustrations are aesthetically striking and its extensive photography much of it vintage does an effective job telling the Ethiopian story through a visual medium.
In addition to fulfilling their ritual purposes, all good Haggadahs should be educational on some level. The Journey to Freedom Haggada definitely achieves that goal, offering a compelling and religiously meaningful glimpse into one of the worlds most ancient and fascinating Jewish communities.
Copyright © 2012 by the Intermountain Jewish News
