Why is this Haggadah different from all other Haggadahs?

Out of the Narrows: The Artists’ Haggadah is filled with art related to the rituals, text, and story of the Exodus. It will inspire in-depth discussions at your Seder as it guides you through the 15 steps of the Seder. Out of the Narrows is written in gender-sensitive contemporary language while honoring traditional prayers, ceremony, rituals, prayers, liturgy, song, and commentary. Our complete Passover Haggadah includes Hebrew, transliteration, and English in an easy to follow and beautiful format. It is also a full color Fine Art book with art as commentary, featuring artwork by 11 members of Jewish Artists Collective Chicago (JACC)— a community of multidisciplinary artists connected through common heritage and committed to sharing ideas, enriching practices, and creating dialogue with community.

Out of the Narrows: The Artists’ Haggadah was created during the modern plague of our time, Covid-19, as members of an arts collective began considering how to celebrate Passover, the holiday of freedom, in isolation. The Haggadah text requires us to ask questions. But the year that the world was undone by a virus, we asked even more. What does it mean to celebrate Passover in a pandemic? As artists, our job is to witness, comment, and create. How does art help make sense of the Passover story? How do its elements reflect on the plagues of disease, death, and injustice that still exist? How do we praise God when the world is broken and millions continue to suffer? In the narrow and constricting place, the world had begun to feel like under the weight of Covid-19, the idea of a Haggadah for our time began to take shape. What emerged is a text rich in meaning and beauty, one that engages readers of all ages visually and thematically and will evoke at this year’s Seder and for years to come.

Featuring artwork from members of Jewish Artists collective Chicago: Susan Dickman
Dorit Jordan Dotan
Berit Engen
Jonathan