Bidspirit auction | The First Passover Haggadah Printed

The First Passover Haggadah Printed in Tunis – With Judeo-Arabic Translation in Hebrew Characters - Passover Haggadah, explained in “al-‘Arabi al-Barbari” – the Passover Haggadah with a Judeo-Arabic translation and commentary printed in Hebrew characters. Tunis, 1890. A rare and highly important edition—the first Passover Haggadah ever printed in Tunis, representing a milestone in the history of Hebrew printing and Jewish literary culture in North Africa. The title page states: “Included herein is an important composition, authored by an ancient sage from the scholars of Tunis, to be recited before the passage ‘Va-Ekach Et Avichem.’ It explains in elevated and rhymed language the events from the creation of the world until the Exodus of Israel from Egypt.” At the end of the Haggadah appear several liturgical poems recited after the Seder, including Chad Gadya and Ki Lo Na’eh, texts that do not generally appear in Sephardic Haggadot, as well as the complete Song of Songs. A rare and seldom-encountered Haggadah. Beyond its liturgical significance, it serves as a fascinating testimony to the customs, language, and cultural life of Tunisian Jewry in the late nineteenth century, reflecting the unique synthesis of Hebrew tradition and local Judeo-Arabic culture. Otzar HaHaggadot 1823. 48 leaves. 15.5 cm. Condition: Good. Age stains. Simple binding.