The new Venice Haggadah is ready
For centuries Venice was the capital of Jewish publishing, with the first complete Talmud, Torah commentaries, mysticism and, in 1609, a famous Haggadah in several languages. In 2015, marking the Ghetto quincentennial, Beit Venezia – A home for Jewish culture invited eight international Jewish artists to design a New Venice Haggadah after a full immersion in the city and a residency at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica.
They produced 24 beautiful etchings illustrating the Haggadah that were on show at the Jewish Museum of Venice. The etchings are now offering a unique visual commentary of the New Venice Haggadah, published by Edizioni Damocle and printed in Venice. The Hebrew text is accompanied by a new English translation intended to invite discussion and interpretation. The New Venice Haggadah is informed by the spirit of the “original” while being consummately fresh, contemporary and innovative, as the director of Beit Venezia Marc Michel Epstein explains in this video.