The Annotated Passover Haggadah presented here is unique, both in substance and appeal. The story is well-known and often repeated, having been translated, elaborated, neutered, abbreviated, truncated, and all but exfoliated over the many centuries. Nevertheless, the current volume makes an important contribution since, while preserving both the traditional Hebrew text along with an equally traditional English translation, it provides important analytical, philosophical, and theological perspectives on the seminal event of Jewish consciousness and self-awareness. This Haggadah is intended, notwithstanding its scholarly rigor, for practical use in family and congregational settings for those who wish, during this all-important night, to delve ever deeply into the Passover narrative, to go beyond the mere repetition of an annual ritual into a more richly rewarding and profound experience. Its overall theme is a celebration, not only of the deliverance from Egypt but of the widely disparate ways in which the Passover is observed by sundry traditions worldwide. Going beyond the "normative" observance of the Passover Seder, this Haggadah breaks new ground in referencing the increasing interest among Christians and Messianic Jews in observing the Exodus from Egypt. It underscores, via a small cadre of the world's most renowned Jewish scholars, the sanctified memory of this mighty deliverance, which remains forever emblazoned in the Jewish soul.
Zev Garber is Emeritus Professor and Chair of Jewish Studies and Philosophy at Los Angeles Valley College, and he has also served as Visiting Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California at Riverside, Visiting Rosenthal Professor of Judaic Studies at Case Western Reserve University, and as President of the National Association of Professors of Hebrew. As Emeritus Editor of Shofar and founding Editor of Shofat Supplements in Jewish Studies and Studies in the Shoah series, he has presented and/or written hundreds of articles and reviews (academic and popular) in the areas of Judaica, Shoah, Jewish Jesus, and interfaith dialogue. He has authored and edited 15 academic books, including, Mel Gibson's Passion: The Film, the Controversy, and Its Implications; The Jewish Jesus: Revelation, Reflection, Reclamation; Teaching the Historical Jesus; and Judaism and Jesus (co-author, Ken Hanson). Colleagues and scholars acknowledge his academic scholarship and leadership in The Maven in Blue Jeans: A Festschrift in Honor of Zev Garber (Purdue University Press, 2009).
Kenneth Hanson is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program. He earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991. His many scholarly articles focus on the Second Jewish Commonwealth, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the historical Jesus, and Jewish Christianity. He has also published several books of popular scholarship, including: Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story; Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition; and Secrets from the Lost Bible. He has been interviewed multiple times on nationally syndicated radio, and his research was featured on the History Channel documentary, "Banned from the Bible." He teaches a wide range of Judaic Studies courses, including the Hebrew language, the Hebrew Bible, Jewish history and culture, and the history of the Holocaust. He recently produced and narrated an award-winning documentary entitled "The Druze: An Ethnic Minority in the Holy Land."
