User:BaalH/sandbox
The Haggadah has existed in different forms over history and therefore cannot be attributed to a single author. Its corporate author is traditionally designated as the Baal Haggadah (master of the Haggadah). There is also a tradition that the term Baal Haggadah refers to an anonymous individual from the time of the Gaonim who devised the standard version used today.
Early Sources
[edit]The Mishnah
[edit]The final chapter in tractate Pesachim in the Mishnah (codified c. 200 CE) provides instructions for conducting the Passover Seder that are reflected in the Haggadah. The instructions begin with the pouring of the first cup of wine, followed by bringing out the Seder plate foods. Following the pouring of a second cup, the Mishnah declares the child asks his father and provides the text of rhetorical questions about the Seder rituals. The questions in the Mishnah parallel but are not identical to those in the Mah Nishtanah a.k.a. the Four Questions included in the Haggadah. Following the questions, the Mishnah continues, according to the ability of the child, his father instructs him; begin with disgrace and conclude with praise; and expound Arami Oved Avi (Deuteronomy 26:5) until the end of the passage. The exposition of Deuteronomy 26:5-8, the biblical passage of miqra bikkurim, the declaration of the first fruits, consititutes a large portion of the Haggadah's text. The Mishnah next cites the opinion of Rabban Gamliel, which is quoted and elaborated in the Haggadah. Finally, the Mishnah mandates riciting Hallel and drinking two further cups of wine, one in conjunction with birkat hamozon, i.e. grace after the meal, and the other with completion of Hallel. The text of birkat hamazon and Hallel are also typically included in the Haggadah.
Avadim Hayinu
[edit]The opening line of Maggid following the Four Questions reads: עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם, וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה, We were slaves (Avadim Hayinu) to Pharoah in Egypt, and the Lord our God took us out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. This is not a scriptual verse, but it is clearly based on Deuteronomy 6:12 (which precedes the question of the Wise Son), which reads We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt, and the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand, recombined with Deuteronomy 5:15 (part of the Ten Commandments).[1][2] A respona of Natronai Gaon mentions that this traditional opening sentence is not in the Torah, drawing the objection of Karaites.[3] According to the Scholar's Haggadah, the evident mistranslation of Deuteronomy 6:12 in the Septuagint, the 3rd century BCE Greek translation of the Torah, is a specific reference to Avadim Hayinu.[4] This suggests that at least one source of the Haggadah's text dates back to at least the 3rd century B.C.E., many centuries before Avadim Hayinu was mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud.
References
[edit]- ^ Ben Harush, Eliyahu (1938). Haggadah Kos Eliyahu. Djerba.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Rovner, Jay Evan (2024). In every generation: studies in the evolution and formation of the Passover Haggadah. Judaism in context. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-4632-4376-0.
- ^ Safrai, Shmuel; Safrai, Ze'ev (1998). Haggadah of the Sages. Jerusalem, Israel: Carta Jerusalem. ISBN 9652207063.
- ^ Guggenheimer, Heinrich (1998). The Scholar's Haggadah: Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Oriental Versions. Northvale NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7657-6040-1.