Sulzbach Haggadah, Germany, 1755
This is a page from a Haggadah printed in the famous printing press of Sulzbach in 1755.
On this page, the text which concludes the Seder, “Chasal Siddur Pesach,” is featured on the top right of the page, surrounded by the commentary of the famous Spanish sage Don Isaac Abarbanel. Underneath the text is an illustration of the Temple. It seems that the artist had never actually visited Jerusalem as the architectural style of his drawing is clearly European. These drawings originally appeared in another famous Haggadah printed in Amsterdam in 1695. The woodcuts of the Sulzbach Haggadah are imitations of the copperplate illustrations of the Amsterdam Haggadah and bear the same captions.
This Haggadah differs from most later Haggadot because the phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem” does not conclude the Seder but rather appears on the previous page. One explanation for why this later became the concluding phrase of the Seder is that as the exile from Israel and Jerusalem became more and more prolonged and the longing for the land intensified, it seemed appropriate to end the Seder with these words. It is puzzling, however, that the editor decided to include a picture of the Temple on this page rather than on the previous page. Perhaps the editor of the Haggadah put the picture on the final page to highlight the importance of Jerusalem; a precursor of the later move to end the Haggadah with the words “Next Year in Jerusalem.”
The Haggadah reproduced here was printed in 1755 by Meshullam Zalman. It features Judeo-German versions of the songs “Adir Hu” “Ehad Mi Yode’a” and “Had Gadya.”
Sulzbach, a town in southern Germany, never had a large Jewish community but was widely known in the Jewish world for the many Hebrew and Judeo-German books which were printed there. The first Jewish-owned print shop in the town was opened in 1669 by Isaak Kohen of Prague.
Relevant Links
Teaching Suggestions
The Haggadah can be used in Jewish Studies lessons when teaching about Pesach and the significance of the phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem” throughout history.
It can also be used by Jewish History teachers in lessons about the Jews of Germany and Amsterdam. This page can also be shown by general History teachers when talking about the progress in technology, in this case, print, in the 18th century.
Jewish Studies teachers could use this resource when talking about the significance of Israel and Jerusalem to the Jewish People in the Diaspora.
Discussion Points
Observations
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Which book does this page belong to?
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What can you see on this page?
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What is the text?
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What appears in the illustration?
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What is depicted on this page of the Haggadah?
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Why do you think it was depicted in this way?
Reading Between the Lines
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What part of the seder does this page show?
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Why does this page include an illustration of the Temple?
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Do you think the Temple actually looked like this picture?
Why do you think it was depicted in this way? -
Compare this picture to other descriptions of the Temple in the Bible or with other pictures of the Temple.
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Why do you think the artist drew the Temple in this way? What was his inspiration?
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Why do you think there is picture of both Jerusalem and the Temple in the Haggadah? What do they symbolize?
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This Haggadah was printed in Sulzbach.
Where is Sulzbach?
What was the Sulzbach Jewish community famous for?
Connections
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How is this Haggadah different from the Haggadah you use at Pesach? How is it similar?
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Compare the last page of this Haggadah to the last page of the Rothschild Haggadah.
Creative Ideas
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Design your own front cover of a Haggadah.
What images would you include and why?
