Customer Reviews

Carlebach Haggadah: Seder Night with Reb Shlomo [In English and Hebrew languages]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Carlebach Haggadah is a Haggadah for the neshama. It is a traditional haggadah for his "sweet, heilige, holy, beautiful friends," in RIGHT to LEFT format, with Hebrew texts on the right pages and facing English translations on the left pages. There are no transliterations. Running along the bottom of each page is the reason to buy this book. They are the teachings and stories of the late singer, teacher, and composer Reb Shlomo Carlebach. The editors of this Haggadah have compiled some of the Rabbi's teachings from his concerts, shiurim, kumsitz sessions, and holiday celebrations. What I liked best about this Haggadah was its feeling of joy (you get that feeling from the start just from the Hebrew font that editors use for the text), and from the stories which essentially reinforce the idea of freedom, striving, and the joy of freedom from various slaveries. The Carlebach Haggadah opens with a search for the Chametz. Prior to beginning the seder text, there are illustrations of three seder plate arrangements (according to the Vilna Gaon, the Ari, and the Rama). His stories relate to the Haggadah text in most cases. For the Maggid (This is the bread of affliction), the associated stories are about those who are hungry for physical, or spiritual, food, and Avraham's biblical hospitality. For Ma Nishtana, there is a story from a Warsaw Ghetto seder. The story for Avadim Hayeenu (We were slaves) compares how the Hebrews were freed with other redemptions. For the Four CHILDREN, Carlebach defines the children as good, best, clever, and not so clever, and shows how the RaSHa contains the letter SHin and what that may actually connote, and how the clever may be too intellectual and not spiritual enough. For Motzi Matzah there is a story about Carlebach's father and a matza baker during WWI. For the main meal, there is an appropriate story about meals that may contain chametz but still be kosher. The Haggadah closes with a four page glossary of terms, a teaching from Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Hallel, Birkat Hamazon, the Counting of the Omer, Echad Mi Yodea, Adir Hu, and Uv'cheyn Viyhee Ba'chatzee Ha'Leila, with storied commentaries on their paragraphs and meanings.

The haggadah I'm using this year is The Carlebach Haggadah, just published, which is completely outstanding. There are Carlebach minyanim sprouting all over the place these days, and growing numbers of people who are familiar with some of Reb Shlomo's music, without having a real sense of what his teaching was about. The number of books about him continues to grow steadily, but they're a mixed bag. This haggadah pulls together much of his teaching about Pesach and links it to the haggadah text. As such it both a tremendous haggadah qua haggadah, and it's also, I think, a superb introduction to Reb Shlomo's teaching in general. I met Reb Shlomo only a handful of times in his life, but I was deeply influenced by him: his teaching at Yakar in Jerusalem in August 1994 changed my life. This haggadah accurately catches his teaching: sometimes meandering, sometimes unclear, but shot through and through with beauty, truth, inspiration, originality, wisdom, generosity... you get the idea.

The Carlebach Haggadah: Seder Night With Reb Shlomo comprises the teachings and stories of Reb Shlomo Carlebach relating to the Haggadah and Seder night. These teachings are drawn from his concerts, shiurim, mass kumsitz sessions, and holiday celebrations over the course of many years. Readers will greatly appreciate Reb Shlomo's profound lessons on the meaning of true freedom. The Carlebach Haggadah is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and small group Judaic Studies reading lists and reference collections.

A profound book that highlights the meaning of freedom in the post-modern world. It can help us to incorporate some spiritually to our daily life.

Shlomo Carlebach taught the simcha( the joy ) of doing Mitzvot. Pesach is a Chag , and in Chaggim a fundamental Mitzvah is to be in joy of Mitzvah. This Haggadah then is especially appropriate as the teachings of Shlomo emphasize how we are to come out of both inner and outer 'meitzarim' ( confined places)and know true freedom and joy. This Haggadah can thus be a very valuable addition to helping bring out and maintain an inner emotional understanding of Pesach.