Usually, when we encounter an old stained manuscript, we assume that the stains on the pages are the evidence of time that left its mark on the pages. Maybe the manuscript was kept in an old, damp attic, or maybe someone carried it in a bag on an unplanned escape journey from a bombed-out city. Maybe children played with the manuscript while it was still young, staining it forever. Who knows. But when it comes to Haggadot, this does not seem to be the case. The stains in the Haggadah are most likely to be wine stains.

Jewish communities celebrate Lel Haseder differently; there are many ways to acknowledge the Exodus from Egypt. Still, in all Sedarim the participants will always drink no less than four glasses of wine. And no doubt, four full glasses of wine have consequences sometimes. In the photos, you can see old manuscripts of Haggadot from different parts of the world, all stained with wine. The photos are taken from the blog of the National Library of Israel.

The first Haggadah is called "Day of the Redemption of Slaves." It was copied in 1782 in Persia and contains passages written in Jewish Persian. In the Haggadah there is a small assertive poem written by the copyist of the Haggadah:  "...I, David Shabtai the young, have written [copied] this/ Wrote for the man... Shabtai Iyunan.../ The reader will be glad the robber will be dead."

The second Haggadah comes from Amsterdam. Following the Dutch Jewish tradition, both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic versions appear in it. Most of the stains in the Haggadah appear in the "right places," near the four glasses, except for a large and glorious stain that adorns the "Dayenu" piyyut at the end of the Haggadah. One can only imagine the great Seder night that took place somewhere in Amsterdam in 1712.

The Dutch Haggadah, 1712

The last Haggadah is printed in Tel Aviv in 1946, called the "Eretz Israel Haggadah for Passover." It seems that what happened for centuries in the diaspora continues in the land of Israel as well. A copy of the Haggadah is kept in the National Library in Jerusalem. It is filled with wine stains all over the Haggadah, from the starting of Seder right until the end. Who knows what happened on that wild Seder night.

The Melton Centre wishes everyone a Happy Passover and a Seder night full of life and joy!