Haggadah for Jews and Buddhists: A Passover Ritual

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 96 pages
• Published by: Modern Haggadah Distribution
• Edition: 2nd Edition February 7, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0977322122
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0977322121
• Book Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Weighs: 4 ounces

Product Review
As someone who collects HaggadahsI recommend this, March 4, 2006

Tired of using the same Haggadah over and over and over again? Ready to shake things up a little and get a fresh perspective and, hopefully, some heightened spiritual insight?

Then this is a Haggadah worth considering. Written with all the traditional Hebrew prayers, this is perfect for mixed families, as both Jewish culture and Buddhist philosopy are represented.

This was written primarily for Jews so don't assume it is a thorough representation of Buddhism. However, it does use Buddhism to add an extra bit of peace, stillness and, yes, even meditation to the Passover ritual.

As you might expect, the more violent aspects of the Passover story are balanced by the emphasis on peace of Buddhism (at least, the Buddhism represented here).

Each year, we try to bring something new to our holiday. Perhaps you'll find value in doing the same. If so, this book could be one great way to do so. --K. Corn "Reviewer" of the first edition

The Four Questions Meet the Four Noble Truths

Even though I grew up in an agnostic Jewish family, the Passover seder was an important event every year. Passover was the only Jewish holiday we ever celebrated.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached the Haggadah for Jews & Buddhists. While Buddhist meditation practice is very important to me, I am not all that adventurous when it comes to Passover.

But as I read through the Jewish/Buddhist hagaddah, an attempt to express the universal theme of Passover to traditional Jews, Buddhists and people of diverse spiritual leanings, my trepidation melted away and I found myself intrigued by the idea of trying something new.

Right from start, this hagaddah, written by Elizabeth Pearce-Glassheim, speaks to the symbolic power of the holiday as it describes the enslavement of the Jews and their journey to freedom as a metaphor for consciousness and our own striving for release from attachment and toward spiritual growth.

While this hagaddah is structurally the same as Reform-style seders and includes all the familiar sections, it's the language and interpretation that makes all the difference.

I jumped ahead to the Four Questions, probably the most important part of the seder for the way that it perpetuates the Jewish tradition of questions and dialogue.

In this section, the authors speaks directly to the traditionalist, the humanist or secular Jew, the Buddhist, and non-Jewish friends, a thought-provoking attempt to explain the universal meanings of Passover to a diverse group of people.

As I read it, I recognized that my Buddhist self has everything to do with my secular Judaism.

Now the really big question: Do I want to integrate these two traditions and conduct a Jewish/Buddhist seder?

I think it's worth a try. If I can communicate Passover's message of freedom while conveying my interest in self-discovery and spiritual growth to my children, I say why not?

Whatever happens, it should, at the very least, provoke a great conversation over our gefilte fish. --Louise Crawford, InterfaithFamily.com

Product Description
A discussion provoking retelling of the traditional Passover ritual, linking its meaning with age-old Buddhist concepts. A traditional haggadah in format, this has been written for a mixed family.

Haggadah for Jews & Buddhists illuminates the concepts embedded in the Biblical story of the sacred exodus from Slavery to freedom. This journey applies to everyone as they face life's challenges and grow stronger through meeting them. This telling has meaning for all thoughtful adults: Buddhists, Traditional and Secular Jews and people of all beliefs and spiritualities.

Reader Reviews
Elizabeth Pearce-Glassheim, the editor of this interfaith Haggadah, has had an interesting spiritual journey. Raised by Catholic parents who "had a life-long fascination with Buddhism," she married into Judaism and has hosted dozens of Seders "attended by friends of all religions and spiritual beliefs" (p. 69). So she's uniquely qualified to put together this Haggadah which, while remaining loyal to the richness of Jewish spirituality and the particularity of the Passover celebration, also speaks to equally rich spiritual and psychological strengths of the various Buddhist-inspired traditions. In fact, this Haggadah stretches even farther. Many of its prayers, particularly those invoking the Ayn Sof, seem inspired by Kabbalah, and in an alternative set of Ma Nishtana (The Four Questions), Pearce-Glassheim explicitly invites humanists, non-Jews, and Buddhists into the Seder (pp. 26-39). Pearce-Glassheim notes at the beginning of her book (pp. 2-3) that the Buddhist tradition has always blended into local culture, and that it's a comfortable fit with Judaism. The Haggadah, or Telling, is a reliving of the drama of liberation. So it's entirely appropriate that the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, which offer a liberation from suffering, be part of the ritual (p. 12); that Genshe Langri Thangpa's "Eight Verses for Training the Mind," guides for liberating ourselves from illusion, be chanted (pp. 12-13); that the Buddha's teaching on will power be related to the ancient Hebrews' determination to be free (pp. 43-44); and that the Haggadah conclude with an invocation of the Being that lets being be, Ayn Sof, the indwelling Presence, a prayer that Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, and people of all religious faiths can embrace (pp. 60-61). Haggadah for Jews and Buddhists, I'm confident, will ruffle the comfort level of some readers; they'll find it too syncrestic for their taste. But many others--and I'm one of them--will find its interfaith approach to a holy and great religious celebration spiritually expanding. Highly recommended.