Obj. ID: 39974  Haggadah shel Pesach, Ein Harod (Iehud), 1965

This text was prepared by William Gross:

The celebration of the Passover in the Kibbutzim in the first half century of their existence took on a form different from that of the religious holiday. The holiday was celebrated in various degrees of the regular traditions of the Haggadah, but special prominence was given to the theme of the coming of spring and the honoring of that event. Additional significance was awarded to concepts found in the Haggadah that were central to the early kibbutz pioneers' ideology: national freedom and socialist ideals.
The staggering number of kibbutz Haggadot (an estimated 1,000 different versions) can be attributed to the fact that few were actually printed; most of those produced in the 1930's and 40's were mimeographed in small numbers, to be used in a particular year by a particular kibbutz. These publications often contain striking graphics which were drawn by members of the Kibbutz, many of whose names were not recorded. It was only later that official kibbutz federations published standard versions of the Haggadah for the kibbutz population. Taken together, these kibbutz Haggadot – their revised texts and innovative illustrations - offer a fascinating perspective on this still evolving social movement.
The first Kibbutz Haggadah created in pre-state Israel was written at Kibbutz Ein Harod during the 1930's. In this and other early kibbutz haggadot the traditional text was altered significantly to reflect the period and place of its creation. During the 1930s and ’40s in Ein Harod, for example, the Four Questions were: “Why do people all over the world hate Jews? When will the Jews return to their land? When will our land become a fertile garden? When will there be peace and brotherhood in the world?” The section on the four sons, sometimes became a satire of people on the kibbutz: the Wise Son, for example, became the kibbutz treasurer; the Wicked Son, the member who arranged the work assignments.
The present Haggadah was published in Ein Harod in 1965.

The illustrations for the Haggadah are workes by Chaim Atar made for the canteen of the kibbutz.