Jay Rovner, "In Every Generation: Studies in the Evolution and Formation of the Passover Haggadah" (Gorgias Press, 2024)

I spoke with Jay Rovner about his book In Every Generation: Studies in the Evolution and Formation of the Passover Haggadah (Gorgias Press, 2024). The Passover seder is one of the most widely celebrated ceremonies in the Jewish world today. It was one of the few that was maintained as much as possible in secret by crypto Jews, and there are still remnants of it today in descendants of those communities. The question becomes how and when were the texts canonized to the current version that despite some minor differences is used across the Jewish diasporas. 

Jay Rosner is a manuscript bibliographer who delves into the primary sources from the Cairo genizah, other manuscripts, and the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. We discuss the significance and history of the beloved song, "dayenu", as well as the significance of the expansion of the storytelling text through the generations. 

As we focus on diversity at the Jewish Unity Through Diversity Institute (www.unitytdiversity.com), it is interesting to note the base text as consistent across the diasporas. The goal of relating the story of the redemption of the Jews from their slavery in Egypt, and to create a sense of nationhood, is based in a long history of a people and texts. 

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