Haggadah Min HaMeitzar: A Seder Journey to Liberation

Haggadah Min HaMeitzar is liturgically traditional, visually beautiful, ideologically progressive, and discursively provocative. It uses a complete traditional text and translation, paired with original commentary and art, thought-provoking quotations, and discussion prompts. The art functions as a form of commentary and provides another layer to discuss.

The commentary focuses on four voices, corresponding to the four names of Passover:

Chag HaCheirut/Festival of Freedom: a progressive voice prompting discussion on the meanings of liberation and oppression in the Exodus story and today.

Chag HaAviv/Springtime Festival: an environmental voice making connections between the Passover seder, ecology, and regrowth and regeneration.

Chag HaPesach/Passover: a meta-commentary about how we tell our stories, the voices that get shared and the voices that do not get shared enough.

Chag HaMaztot/Matzah Festival: a voice about embodiment and the tangible and sensory aspects of the seder.

Gabriella Spitzer is a visual artist based in Boston, MA. Their art (silk paints on silk, acrylics on canvas, watercolors on paper and other surfaces, and mixed media) focuses on Jewish and environmental themes. Their current big project is developing art and commentary for Haggadah Min HaMeitzar Out of the Narrows. The haggadah, like their art generally, provides a queer voice in rooted in deep relationship with text and tradition.