This haggadah is a thought-provoking and inspiring work that can be read during the Passover holiday or at any time during the year when one wants to learn about Judaism. It reflects the views of Open Orthodoxy, which its founder, Rabbi Avi Weiss, defined as the movement within Orthodox Judaism “completely committed to Torah min hashamayim [Torah from heaven], to the belief that God wrote the Torah, and to the meticulous observance of halakhah (Jewish Law). At the same time, it is open—inclusive, pluralistic, and nonjudgmental.”1
With regard to gender-defined roles within Judaism, Rabbi Weiss feels that men and women share “roles in more than 90 percent of areas, but there are still clear distinctions.” Open Orthodoxy encourages women’s involvement in learning Torah at the same level as men—no lower. Thus, “women can be ordained and receive semikhah.” Open Orthodoxy welcomes and fully integrates all people into community and synagogue activities, regardless of sexual orientation, and encourages interaction with all kinds of people, including non-Jews.
This haggadah (called the Orlofsky Edition and the Lieberman Haggadah because of the generous assistance of these two families in its publication) was written and edited by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, associate rabbi at Rabbi Weiss’s synagogue from 1999 to 2004 and now the rabbi of The National Synagogue in Washington, D.C.
Rabbi Herzfeld wants this haggadah “to help your Seder be alive, exciting, and relevant.” Therefore it includes “provocative voices that will encourage you to discuss cutting-edge ideas at the Seder … and help sensitize us to the needs of our entire community.” The text of the Haggadah and the many Seder meal practices are explained in an easy-to-read and informative manner, so that the ancient content does not stymie action but rather encourages readers to make the ritual acts relevant. For example, he clarifies that maror, the bitter herb, is a reminder not only of the past bitterness of our Israelite ancestors, but of the bitterness in modern society throughout the world.
The haggadah features twenty-four short, enlightening essays, including five special essays by three women and two men, and four “Open Orthodox Discussions.” The three women are Michel Martin, a non-Jewish veteran host of National Public Radio; Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman, the first full-time female associate rabbi of an Orthodox synagogue; and Rachel Lieberman, the program director of JOFA. Martin writes about the “blessed” impact on her and her family of serving as the buyer of the hametz (the unleavened products) from Jews who attend the local synagogue, the neighborliness this created, and the subsequent result that “half a dozen men from the congregation came running to my aid” when she and her family needed help. Balinsky Friedman writes about the need for congregations to become sensitive to the pain of women who suffer because of infertility, and describes a healing ritual that some groups of women have used to help such women. Lieberman describes four new practices that highlight the constructive and caring contributions of women to ancient and modern society: welcoming Miriam the prophetess along with Elijah the prophet with songs and dances; placing a Miriam’s cup on the Seder table; decorating the table with mirrors; and adding an orange to the Seder plate. She explains these four practices rivetingly and, about the orange, describes how some men tried to distort the new custom.
Rabbi Weiss, one of the two rabbis in “Guest Voices,” urges readers to be sensitive to all people. He notes that respected rabbinical authorities sometimes made decisions based on incorrect ideas. The author of Mishnah Berurah, for example, thought that women do not understand the words of blessings and so “cannot be trusted to complete the full forty-nine-day count” of the Omer. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, the president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, enlarges upon the idea of respecting everyone.
The “Open Orthodox Discussions” address “Kol Ishah,” the prohibition against listening to women sing lest it provoke sexual desires; “Why More Synagogues Need a Maharat,” showing what female spiritual leaders can do that their male counterparts cannot; “How to Form an Inclusive Spiritual Community,” describing the benefits of interaction with people whom others ignore; and “No More Agunot,” depicting the plight of wives whose husbands refuse to grant them a Jewish divorce, leaving them unable to remarry.
In the Kol Ishah essay, the haggadah describes the somewhat recent development of the rule and the view of some modern rabbis, including Rabbi Moshe Lichtenstein, that the prohibition does not exist. The essay argues that if we continue to insist on the kol ishah prohibition, “we run the very real risk of drowning out a girl’s spiritual voice and thereby turning her away from traditional Judaism.” Second, we are sending a bad message to boys—that men cannot learn how to control their sexual urges and can do so only by segregating women. Third, the prohibition is hypocritical: Why is there no rule prohibiting women from hearing male voices?
These are some of the many topics discussed and explained in this haggadah. Readers will delight in the ubiquitous explanations of the text, the provocative questions, and the discussions of topics such as how to prepare spiritually for Passover, the transformative nature of the four cups, and the meaning of the afikoman.