Abarbanel Haggadah (review)

152 SHOFAR that organization was dominated by the United States and Britain cannot be denied. In the event, on either 15 or 16 September the Lohamey Herut Israel (LHI) Centre, the steering body of the anti-British underground movement, popularly known as the Stern Gang, voted to assassinate Count Bernadotte. The LHI Centre was composed of Yitzhak Shamir, Nathan Yelin-Mon (Friedman), and Israel Eldad. Mr. Shamir is currently prime minister of Israel . The assassination was carried out on 17 September by persons who will probably never be known. In the author's opinion, the identity of the assassins is not important; they were simple gunmen. Real responsibility for the assassination rests with the LHI Centre. Thus the story of Count Folke Bernadotte ends tragically. He may be applauded for establishing a truce and attempting to turn it into a settlement. This truce, however, was 'used for one side to gain military advantage. He could also be remembered for having written two sets of proposals for a political settlement. But both came to nothing because of changes in the military balance. And finally, he was killed for his efforts by the side which had benefited most from his labors. After having read Prof. Ilan's fine biography, one sadly understands why he chose to subtitle the volume"A Study in Contemporary Humanitarian Knight-Errantry." William W. Haddad California State University, Fullerton Abarbanel Haggadah, edited by Shlomo Fox, translated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1990. 160 pp. n.p.l. Our generation has been blessed with a plethora of Judaic scholarship in English. Many of the works are original, some a"re translations from Hebrew or Aramaic, and othes are anthologies of comments compiled from the classic Hebrew literature. Nowhere is this diversity seen more clearly than in the Haggadah literature . Most of those with commentaries are anthologies, and as many as I have read, there seems to be no end of thoughts to be culled from our sources. But useful as they are, even the best anthologies cannot replace reading a single work in its entirety. Desserts and confections are delicious, but ultimately the body (and soul) crave the full meal, for often the least tasty parts are the most wholesome. So it is with Haggadah commentaries; and it is to the credit of the publishers of the ArtScroll series that they have started to put out editions devoted to the works of a single author. The Abarbanel Haggadah is an Volume 9, No.4 Summer 1991 ". ,:-,~.:-..... 153 abridged version of the original written in 1496 in Italy after the famous statesman Don Isaac Abarbanel was expelled from Spain in 1492. The book includes the complete Haggadah in Hebrew with a new English translation. The commentary and brief seder directions are in English only. Abarbanel's style was to pose penetrating questions on the text and then answer them in a full and complete manner, discussing and discarding many alternatives before settling on the one he found most satisfying. For example, why is the opening section of the Haggadah (Hah lachmah) written in Aramaic whereas the rest is in Hebrew? He considers and discards the arguments that it was said that way to confuse evil spirits, or so that the ministering angels should not understand it, or that after all it was written in Babylonia (where everyone spoke Aramaic) so why should it not be in that language. Instead, he notes that this passage includes a request for the poor to join us. What kind of an invitation would it be if they could not understand it? But this style presented the translator with a problem. Was he to pro" duce a scholarly work, or something which could actually be used at a seder table? He opted for the latter and produced a book which is brief enough to be covered in the course of a few sederim but which nonetheless retained the flavor and some of the depth of the original. If not the full meal, it was at least a wholesome snack. More than enough to keep us occupied until the main course at the seder. Edward Simon Department of Biological Sciences Purdue University...