The Carlebach Haggadah

The Carlebach Haggadah] is really a beautiful book to have. It begins with a story about a Texan who doesn't keep Shabbat. He is drawn to going to the mikvah to do something holy, and from then on, the book doesn't stop. Page after page of anecdotal stories from Reb Shlomo's meetings with Jews all around the world and Hassidic tales from olden days. This is all mixed in with divrei Torah, and spoken with the sixties Shlomo style holy-brother, holy-sister voice, giving it the dreamy quality that many Shlomo fans will be familiar with. The print is pleasant and makes a change from the standard Artscroll font that seems to dominate Hebrew-English books. For those who like to sit back and read something holy during the sederthis would really lift one of the highest nights of the year, adding something special and sweet. We live in an age where we could all do with a little more of Shlomo Carlebach's love and joy at our religious occasions. This year our seder was mamash gevaldik, thanks to the Rav. ~ Jake Baum, Le'ela 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 is 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. Nigel Savage, Amazon.com If, however, you're the sort of person who likes to sit quietly while everyone else is talking, but when you finally do speak, you blow everybody's minds, then "The Carlebach Haggadah" is right up your alley. Shlomo Carlebach, the famed composer of many Friday-night service melodies, is arguably the best Jewish storyteller of his generation. This Haggadah takes his casual, talky voice and translates it into a bottom-half-of-the-page commentary, remixing his speeches and performances into the pertinent parts of the Haggadah. But Carlebach's commentary is more about passing on wisdom than about telling stories and that wisdom finds a place in nearly every part of the Seder" from the difference between getting drunk on God and just getting drunk, to places where he turns the Seder on its head by saying, "Let me ask You four questions, God." His commentary reads less like a standard decryption and more like a DVD director's cut. A brief warning: Carlebach's anecdotes can sometimes meander and aren't always well-suited to a group who's champing at the bit, impatient to reach the festive meal. But the commentary is clear and relevant. ~ Matthue Roth, World Jewish Digest Edited by Chaim Stefansky Hardcover, 182 Pages ISBN 9789657108314 Publication: March 12, 2001