The original Kittsee Haggadah, created in 1760 - before the birth of the Chabad movement and before the founding of the United States, was hand written and illustrated on parchment by famed calligrapher Chaim b. Asher of Kittsee (now Bratislava, Slovakia).
Review
The Kittsee Haggadah 1760 (Kehot Publication Society, 2002) is a facsimile edition of a haggadah that was handwritten and illustrated on parchment by a calligrapher, Chaim ben Asher Anshel in the town of Kittsee, near Pressburg, which is now Bratislava, Slovakia. To a contemporary eye, the illustrations appear to be an appealing mix of folk art and elegance; the cover and end papers are printed to look like the original leather cover. Some parts of the text, including instructions for the seder and translations of songs, are in Yiddish. A copy of the original is part of a large collection of rare haggadahs in the Central-Lubavitch Library in Brooklyn, which was established by Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn. In 1924, he purchased a collection of 5,000 rare books, and many more titles have been added since then. Now, there are more than 2,000 editions of the haggadah, spanning 450 years, in the collection. --The Jewish Week
The Kittsee haggadah of 1760 was selected for reproduction from among some 2,000 haggadah editions contained in the central Chabad-Lubavitch Library in New York.
The 18th - century manuscript was written and illustrated on parchment by the famous calligrapher Chaim, son of Asher Anshel of Kittsee, near Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). Handwritten in square Hebrew letters, the text is complemented by instructions for the observance of the seder, as well as by Yiddish translations of various hymns. Also included are 13 beautifully rendered drawings.
With a modern binding and quality paper, the facsimile, slipcased reproduction of the Kittsee haggadah remains true to the original. --The Jewish Sentinel
The Kittsee Haggadah - 1760 is the impressive and faithful reproduction of a classic edition of the Passover Haggadah from the Central Chabad Lubavitch Library in New York. The original work was written and illustrated on parchment by the renowned calligrapher Chaim in 1760,in square Hebrew letters. This photomechanical reprint is enhanced with instructions for the observance of Seder and translations of hymns, and is a very welcome resource for scholars and collectors with a keen interest in classical Judaic texts. --Midwest Book Review |