Hirsch Haggadah

by Samson Raphael Hirsch

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, the illustrious Torah scholar and leader of 19th century German Jewry, wrote profound, incisive commentaries on Chumash, Tehillim, and the Siddur - the very elements which comprise the Haggadah text. His keen insights decode cryptic verses of Tanach and render the Sages often-enigmatic words clear and comprehensible. These enlightening commentaries, along with some of Hirsch's most brilliant essays on Pesach themes and on the fundamentals of Judaism, are presented here in English, and adapted for the modern reader. His exquisite imagery, his love of symmetry and his emotional intensity combine to make The Hirsch Haggadah a book to study, savor and cherish, not only on Pesach but all year 'round.

287 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Samson Raphael Hirsch (June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed neo-Orthodoxy, his philosophy, together with that of Azriel Hildesheimer, has had a considerable influence on the development of Orthodox Judaism.

Hirsch was rabbi in Oldenburg, Emden, was subsequently appointed chief rabbi of Moravia, and from 1851 until his death led the secessionist Orthodox community in Frankfurt am Main. He wrote a number of influential books, and for a number of years published the monthly journal Jeschurun, in which he outlined his philosophy of Judaism. He was a vocal opponent of Reform Judaism and similarly opposed early forms of Conservative Judaism.