The Haggadah, which is presented here in facsimile, in one of the most beautiful handwritten and illuminated Haggadoth from the eighteenth century. It is the handiwork of Joseph ben David of Leipnik, a master scribe and artist, several of whose creations have survived.
Joseph, a native of Moravia, was active in various cities in Germany. He produced this Haggadah in 1738 in Altona, which was apparently his last place of residence.
The famous Amsterdam Haggadoth, printed in 1695 and 1712 respectively, which were imitated and copied by numerous printers and manuscript artists, served as models also for this Haggadah.
Like the Amsterdam Haggadoth, which were intended for the use of Ashkenazim as well as Sephardim, this Haggadah features the Seder instructions in both Judeo-German and Judeo-Spanish, the Grace after Meals according to the Ashkenazi and Sephardi rituals, and the songs “Adir Hu…”, “Ehad Mi Yode’a” and “Had Gadya” with their Judeo-German versions.
The Haggadah also contains an abridged version of Don Isaac Abarbanel’s commentary and a short esoteric commentary, both of which appear in the Amsterdm Haggadoth as well.
The text of the Haggadah is written in large beautiful square letters. The beginnings of some sections are illuminated and ornamented. Abarbanel’s commentary is written in what is generally called “Rashi script,” while the Judeo-German Seder instructions and the Judeo-German versions of the concluding hymns are in Ashkenazic mashait writing.
The Haggadah is lavishly illustrated. It contains the following illustrations: Fifteen larger pictures, the motives of most of which are found in the Amsterdam Haggadoth; two groups of smaller illustrations showing the various stages of the Seder ritual and the Ten Plagues, and finally two other groups of smaller illustrations for the songs “Ehad Mi Yode’a” and “Had Gadya.” Illustrations with the same themes as the first two groups of smaller pictures appeared for the first time in the Venice Haggadah of 1609, and were copied by the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1712.
The larger pictures, in the order of their appearance in the Haggadah, are: Two Seder scenes, the Seder of the Sages at Bnei Brak, the Four Sons, Abraham destroys the idols of his father, the three angels visiting Abraham, the arrival of Jacob and his family in Egypt, the oppression of the children of Israel, Pharaoh’s daughter finding Moses in the Nile. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, the drowning of the Egyptians in the sea, the giving of the Law, the Passover meal in Egypt, David at prayer, and, finally, the Temple in Jerusalem.
The title page is dominated by four figures representing, from the left to the right, the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood, the crown of royalty and the crown of a good name (Avoth chapt. 4, 12). The first three figures are certainly meant to be Moses, Aaron and David.
Joseph ben David of Leipnik was an original and very talented artist and his illustrations demonstrate his great ability. His Haggadoth have been described as true masterpieces of 18th century Jewish art.[1]
The actual size of the Haggadah, which is written on vellum, is 35.7 x 26.6 cm. Many of the illustrations are in color.[2] The Haggadah is now in the possession of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana of Amsterdam.
This is the fifteenth Passover Haggadah of cultural interest reproduced by the Orphan Hospital Ward of Israel. This institution and its director, Rabbi Munish I. Weintraub, deserve our thanks for having made available to the public a reproduction of this beautiful Haggadah.
[1] See Ernest M. Namenyi, “The Illumination of Hebrew Manuscripts after the Invention of Printing” in Jewish Art (ed. Cecil Roth, rev. ed. 1971), pp. 157, 159-160. Idem, “La miniature juive au XVIIe et au XVIIIe siecle,” REJ, CXVI, 1957, pp. 59, 64-66.
[2] See L. Fuks and R.G. Fuks-Mansfeld, Hebrew and Judaic Manuscripts in Amsterdam Public Collections, vol. I. (Leiden, 1973), p. 65.