Though only few copies of the Venice Haggadah of 1609 are extant, many a reader may have a feeling that he had already seen quite a number of its pictures; this Haggadah was reprinted several times in the 17th and 18th centuries and its pictures were widely reproduced and imitated for other Haggadah editions.
The Haggadah was conceived by Israel Sifroni, a well-known Jewish printer, who was active in Italy and in Switzerland. It was printed for him by the printing house of Giovanni di Gara of Venice. The Haggadah appeared simultaneously in three editions, featuring the translations of the text and of the Seder instructions in Judeo-German, Judeo-Italian and Judeo-Spanish, respectively, for the use of the different Jewish communities. In Venice itself there were Ashkenazim, Sefardim, native Italian Jews, as well as Jews from the Levant. The sale of the Haggadah, of course, was not limited to this city.
The Judeo-Italian edition, which is reproduced here, was prepared by Rabbi Leon Modena of Venice, as indicated by the Hebrew postscript as the end of the Judeo-Italian translation of the last but one page of the Haggadah. The first letters of the postscript are printed in larger type; they spell out Modena’s name.
Leon Modena was one of the most colorful Jewish personalities of his time. He was a rabbi with a wide Jewish as well as general knowledge, a celebrated preacher whom even gentiles came to hear, and a fine Hebrew stylist. He wrote numerous scholarly as well as popular books. In his autobiography he relates that during his life he had engaged in no less than twenty-six professions, among them matchmaker, writer of wedding poems and verse epitaphs, business broker and proofreader. He also wrote comedies and directed their production in the Ghetto of Venice. Modena was requested to write an account of the customs and ceremonies of the Jews for presentation to King James I of England. This book, originally written in Italian, was translated into several languages.
When a new edition of the Venice Haggadah of 1609 was published in 1629, Leon Modena prepared for inclusion in it an abridged version of Isaac Abarbanel’s commentary on the Haggadah, called Zevah Pesah. Modena entitles it Tzli Esh. Modena also wrote a Haggadah commentary of his own, Ge’on Yehuda, but it was never published. His book Galut Yehuda, printed for the first time in Venice in 1612, contains the Italian translations of various terms found in Scripture, the Ethics of the Fathers, and in the Haggadah.
The Venice Haggadah of 1609 is one of the most beautiful early printed Haggadoth. Its pages, most of which are adorned with large pictures on the bottom, are framed by architectural borders. Several pages feature two larger pictures with a picture at the top in place of the arch. The illustrations show the preparations for the Passover, the Seder meal, the story of the exodus from Egypt and other Biblical scenes. In addition to numerous vignettes, the Haggadah also features two series of smaller illustrations. The artist is unknown.
The vignettes at the beginning of paragraphs illustrate the text they introduce. The first vignette on page 5 calls for an explanation. It show a hare hunter. The line above gives the order in which the blessings of the Kiddush are recited when the Seder is celebrated on a Saturday night: Yayin (wine), Kiddush (Sanctification of the Festival), Ner (the Havdala Candle), Havdala (Separation of Sabbath from other days), Zman (Shehehiyanu, thanksgiving for having been enables to live to celebrate the festival). The acronym of the order is pronounced YaKNHaZ, which sounds similar to the German “jag’ ‘n Has’” (jag’ den Hasen) i.e. “hunt the hare”. Hence this illustration, which is found also in other old Haggadoth. Although the picture had meaning only for Ashkenazim, the printer left it also in the non-Ashkenazi editions of the Haggadah. It may be that by that time non-Ashkenazi Jews also understood the German pun.
The version of the Grace after Meals is that of the Italian rite, which is different from those of the Ashkenazim and Sefardim.
The Judeo-Italian edition concludes on the last but one page of the Haggadah. The last page contains hymns sung by the Ashkenazim.
The original size of the Haggadah is 11½ x 8 in.
The Venice Haggadah of 1609 is a very rare book. Thanks are due to the Orphan Hospital Ward of Israel and to its director, Rabbi Munish Weintraub, for having made available to the public a reproduction of this beautiful Haggadah.