Every new haggadah struggles with the balance between telling too much and telling too little, between pursuing the endless paths down which our intellects can lead us and enjoying the emotional flow of the evening with its four cups of wine and its many melodic songs. Seder Talk: The Conversational Haggada by Erica Brown, who currently serves as the community scholar of the Jewish Center in Manhattan, deals with this tension creatively by arranging a book that can be read in two directions. From right to left, we have the traditional text of the haggadah, in Hebrew and English translation, with a running commentary and suggested questions to prompt conversation. From left to right, there are eight longer essays—one for each day of the holiday—on broad themes that flow from the Passover experience.
In both halves of the book, Brown has gathered an eclectic mix of sources, both textual and visual, to deepen our understanding. For example, in the first essay, dealing with how to be a good host and a good guest, she quotes Rav J.B. Soloveitchik, Emma Lazarus, Blu Greenberg, and Miss Manners. In the second essay, on the Four Sons, she brings my favorite visual image of the four children as four playing cards (“we have no control over the children dealt us”) from the David Moss haggadah. Each essay concludes with a section of “Life Homework” to encourage further discussion.
The haggadah text side of the book—with Hebrew and English in large type on facing pages, commentary below the line in smaller type, and icons to separate the instructive and the conversational parts—presents a somewhat cluttered page visually. The content is well chosen, though, pitched to the lives and concerns of modern rather than medieval Jews. And Brown never stops, even offering insights on parts of birkat hamazon and Hallel.
This haggadah weaves together material from a wealth of previous haggadot—both classical and modern—while adding both explanatory and homiletic material of her own. It is a worthwhile addition to one’s own haggadah collection—and likely to stimulate many a lively conversation.