(HAGADAH)

Israel Defense Force

v.p

(1949)

Lechag Hacherut. Masechet Lemesibat Pesach [Secular, “Silver Plate Hagadah”]. ff. (16). Elaborate typography; includes thematic illustrations. (Cultural Services of Israel Defense Forces, n.p., n.d.) * With: (Religious Hagadah). ff. (16). (Jerusalem: Religious Services, Israel Defense Forces, 1949)

Two Army Hagadot issued by the Israel Defense Forces in the first year of the State of Israel: The Silver Plate Haggadah, is so-named as it includes a poem by Nathan Alterman, in which fallen soldiers tell the future nation that they are the “silver plate” upon which the Jewish State is presented. This Hagadah, written from a liberal kibbutz perspective, includes modern poetry alongside the traditional text. R. Shlomo Goren (then Goronchik), Chaplain of the Army, issued a parallel traditional Hagadah for the use of religious soldiers. (Our copy is the first edition of that issue). This is the sole instance of the Army issuing two forms of Hagadot, all subsequent Hagadot were traditional