THE HAGGADAH COLLECTION OF THE LUBAVITCH LIBRARY In December of 1894 the Previous Rebbe acquired the library of the famous book collector and bibliographer Shmuel Wiener, consisting of approximately 5,000 rare books, including approximately 400 different printings of the Passover Haggadah. Since then many more Haggadot were added to the Library. Today the Library contains about 2,000 editions of the Haggadah published over the last 450 years. This is about half of all the Haggadot are known to have been published in this period. Among the rare Haggadot in the Library are many editions that are not known from other sources. In 1938, the then-Director of the Library, R. Chaim Lieberman, listed 32 editions of the Haggadah that were not mentioned elsewhere. The first list of Haggadot was made by the previously mentioned Shmuel Wiener, numbering 909 publications. A more complete list, from the invention of the printing press until 1960, was compiled by Avraham Yari (Bibliography of the Passover Haggadah; Jerusalem, 1960). As he relates in the introduction to his book, before publishing his list, which noted 2,717 different versions of the Haggadah, he consulted the Lubavitch Library. Several years later, Theodore Wiener, who also consulted the Lubavitch Library, published an appendix to Yari's work (Studies In Bibliography and Booklore; vol. VII, Cincinnati, 1965). After searching through 16 prestigious libraries around the world, he discovered 330 new editions, more than 40 of which were from the Lubavitch Library. Yet, even after this, many more editions that were not mentioned in the bibliographic records, were discovered in the Library. This exhibition features more than 200 editions of the Haggadah, arranged into 12 sections: 1) Very old handwritten and printed Haggadot 2) Haggadot from various eras 3) Haggadot printed in cities around the world 4) Translated Haggadot 5) Illustrated Haggadot 6) Reprints of rare Haggadot 7) Haggadot with Chassidic commentaries 8) Haggadot with Chabad commentaries 9) Haggadot with the Rebbe's commentaries 10) Haggadot published by Chabad 11) Rare Chabad Siddurim with Haggadot 12) Bibliographies of Haggadot Very old handwritten and printed Haggadot The first Haggadah on display is a magnificent and much studied Haggadah, the "Kittsee Haggadah." It was written and illustrated on parchment by the famous calligrapher R. Chaim ben R. Asher Anshil in the city of Kittsee, adjacent to Preshburg, in the year 1760. The Library also has other handwritten Haggadot which were composed together with commentary explaining meditations from the writings of the Arizal, and these too are on display. * * * The first known print of the Haggadah was in Guadalaxara, circa 1482. The only extant copy is in the National Library in Jerusalem. Current scholarship indicates that in the next 50 years another eight Haggadot were published, none of which are in the Lubavitch Library. A number of Haggadot which are older then 300 years old, i.e. circa 1540-1695, are also on display. Haggadot from various eras This section features a selection of Haggadot printed in the 300 years since 1695. Chosen for display are Haggadot printed together with one or more significant commentaries. Haggadot printed in cities around the world This section features Haggadot printed throughout the generations from numerous places around the world, including the Holy Land, the United States, South America, Central America, Germany, Italy, Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Europe during the Holocaust period, Africa and the Far East. Translated Haggadot This sections features translations of the Haggadah into various languages, including Italian, English, Yiddish, German, Dutch, Hungarian, Latin, Ladino, Arabic, Persian, French, Romanian and Russian. Illustrated Haggadot This section features illustrated Haggadot printed from woodcuts or copper engravings, as well as Haggadot from modern times with artwork. Reprints of rare Haggadot As stated above, the Library does not have in its collection any Haggadot printed before 1540. However, photocopies of most of these Haggadot have been published, including reprints of handwritten Haggadot with illustrations and decorative flourishes. This section features a choice selection of these. Haggadot with Chassidic commentaries The Haggadah has merited to have more commentaries than any other work. Most of these commentaries have been printed alongside the text of the Haggadah itself, but some have been published as independent volumes. This section features commentaries composed by Chassidic masters through the generations. Haggadot with Chabad commentaries This section features Haggadot with gleanings from the teachings of Chabad Chassidus, including handwritten commentaries on the Haggadah as well as commentaries that were printed in the form of independent books or as a portion of other Chassidic works. Haggadot with the Rebbe's commentaries In 1946 the Rebbe first printed his "Haggadah with Customs and Practices", a unique compilation of insight to the liturgy of the Haggadah. Since then this Haggadah has been reprinted dozens of times, with additions and with commentaries selected from his talks and writings. In recent years this Haggadah has also been translated into different languages. This section features a selection of these Haggadot. Haggadot published by Chabad The Rebbe also printed a special Haggadah for children. Over the years he gave instructions for Haggadot to be published in different forms that are attractive to children so as to arouse their curiosity. A selection of these Haggadot are featured in this section. Rare Chabad Siddurim with Haggadot Featured in this section are various Chabad Siddurim with Haggadot, including Siddurim that have been especially dear to the Chabad Rebbeim. Bibliographies of Haggadot As mentioned above, Shmuel Wiener first publicized a bibliography of Haggadot, almost 100 years ago. Since then, many such bibliographies have been printed, together with appendices, supplements and addenda. Today, too, the Bibliographic Institute in Jerusalem is updating the list, and this also includes all of the Haggadot contained in the Lubavitch Library which are not mentioned in any other bibliography. This section features various bibliographies of Haggadot. The Rebbe's Matzah Campaign The Rebbe started this Campaign in the first years of his leadership with an announcement at a Chassidic gathering on Shabbos Parshat Hachodesh, 1954 (Likutei Sichos, vol. 1, p. 243). The Rebbe asked that everyone with influence, to offer others Shmura Matzah to eat on Pesach. Each year the Rebbe vigorously encouraged people to do this, and he expanded the Campaign on a worldwide basis, distributing Shmura Matzah to hundreds of thousands of Jews around the globe. The Rebbe himself also gave Matzah each year to all his visitors on the eve of Pesach, and sent out packages of Matzah to Chabad centers throughout the world for distribution. Items connected with this Campaign from the last 40 years are displayed in this section.