OU Head chooses Kol Menachem Haggadah as pick of the Year

The following are testimonials on the new Kol Menachem Haggadah.

I write these words on the eve of Purim. At this time of year I receive, from authors and favorite bookstores, a number of new Haggados shel Pesach. I choose one for special study. There is no doubt that this year my selection will be the Kol Menachem, compiled and adapted by my dear friend Rabbi Chaim Miller with commentary and insights from the works of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, zt”l.

The layout of the basic Haggadah text is pleasing to the eye, artistically beautiful, and clear, and it contains explanatory notes which are helpful to the beginner Seder leader as well as to the most educated veteran.

But the commentary is the true tour de force of this work. It provides important material in four areas of interest: The text itself, Jewish law, personal growth, and mystical/inspirational themes. In each of these four areas, the editor is able to provide classical sources and comments from the Rebbe which are original, which are startlingly relevant to contemporary life, and which are of practical help to every level of reader.

I was particularly impressed by the material on personal growth, and the discussions of a large number of psychological and educational problems that we all face. For example, the Rebbe discusses the inner tensions that exist within us all; the darker side of the wise son; estranged brothers; shedding our preconceptions; dealing with the negative influences of our environment; and answers the provocative question, “Should Jews be insular?”

If there is a Haggadah for Everyman, this is it. I heartily recommend this Haggadah to all who wish to be enlightened by the Rebbe’s precious insights, and who wish to promote their own spiritual development and education of their inner selves.

There are many different haggadot which can make the Seder more meaningful. Yet the Kol Menachem Haggadah is in a class by itself. Put together by Rabbi Chaim Miller, this beautifully produced volume presents for the first time the insights of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, on this central text. The Rebbe’s enormous achievements in so many areas of Jewish life had the unintended consequence that many non-Lubavitchers are unaware of the Rebbe’s complete mastery and exegetcal brilliance in all areas of Torah knowledge. Rabbi Miller is to be congratulated for helping bring the Rebbe’s great insights to the wider Jewish public.

This beautiful new Haggadah presents the English reader with both classic explanations and a selection of the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, regarding the Exodus from Egypt, the Haggadah and the Seder rituals. The compiler has skillfully presented these teachings so as to provide illuminating insights that can be brought to the Passover table. Its availability with the Ashkenazic Haggadah text will clearly make it a wonderful selection for a wide cross-section of the Jewish community.

The Kol Menachem Haggadah continues in the style of the Gutnick Edition of the Chumash that we have come to so appreciate. The “Classic Questions” section provides immediate access and pithy commentary to fundamental issues raised by the Ba’alei Hagaddah, and the Toras Menachem offers the Rebbe’s astute textual analyses and inspiring insights. This Haggadah will take a welcome place at our family seder.

“Sometimes a person’s spiritual greatness is so overpowering that we lose sight of his supreme scholarship and towering intellect. The new Haggadah in the Kol Menachem series allows us to remind ourselves of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s uniqueness as master preacher and commentator, finding new insights in the passages well known to all of us at the Passover Seder rooted in fascinating and novel interpretations of classic texts. To peruse this outstanding collection of a Rabbinic giant of our times fills us with awe at the Rebbe’s wisdom in every field of knowledge – and provides us with much new material to share with our families at the holiday meal that calls for discussion and dialogue”

The Gutnick Library of Jewish Classics once again presented a beautiful work with the Kol Menachem Haggadah. The set-up of the contents is very helpful and user-friendly: the Haggadah-text itself, the relevant instructions for the procedures of the Seder, the section of classic questions on the various passages and their answers, and the more elaborate commentary, are expertly separated with clear notation of the sources. In short, this new and attractively printed Haggadah is very handy and useful for everyone, and no doubt will help make the experience of the Seder both enlightening and inspiring. Thank you again for a job well done.

With the Gutnick Haggadah on the table, no Seder can ever fade into a mere annual replay of fond phrases and familiar customs.Like Jacob’s ladder, this Haggadah has its feet on the ground, while its head soars above the clouds. Combining serious chassidic scholarship with userfriendly accessibility, Rabbi Chaim Miller guides every reader through all the practical details, but at the same time shows him how to fly out of his homemade cage – his personal Egypt of mediocre goals, mental boredom and spiritual fatigue. No personal Exodus could be more exhilarating!