Beyond the Book: Background information when reading People of the Book

Beyond the Book

This article relates to People of the Book

Did You Know?

• People of the Book is a work of fiction inspired by the Sarajevo Haggadah - all the characters are imaginary, as are most of the events.
  
  Extensive photographs and a brief description of what is known of the Sarajevo Haggadah's history are available at Sarajevo.net/haggadah.


• A Haggadah contains the order of the Passover Seder (a ritual feast held during Passover). Haggadah, which translates as "telling," fulfills the scriptural commandment to each Jew to tell their children about the Jewish liberation from slavery in Egypt, as described in the book of Exodus.


• According to the online exhibit of the Passover Haggadah from the Yale University collections, the first printed version of the Haggadah was published in Guadalajara, Spain, in 1482 - just ten years before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.


• In modern times, the Haggadah has taken on a new significance as Jewish life has changed and evolved. Often, it reflects contemporary issues in addition to Israel's ancient history.

Interesting Links:

• An essay by Brooks, that was first published in the New Yorker (Dec. 2007) and is reprinted at her website, which details the World War II history of the Sarajevo Haggadah.


• A map illustrating the fictional path of the Sarajevo Haggadah taken from People of The Book.

Filed under

This "beyond the book article" relates to People of the Book. It originally ran in January 2008 and has been updated for the January 2009 paperback edition. Go to magazine.