2025 AVI WEST MEMORIAL LECTURE
Presented by Rabbi Joshua Cahan
Author, Yedid Nefeshbencher, Yedid Nefesh Haggadah
Explore some of the design elements that distinguish Rabbi Cahan's new Yedid Nefesh Haggadah, and talk about what separates the Haggadot you want to read from the ones you want to use at your Seder.
The Seder is the quintessential Jewish home ritual, the only complex, extended ritual that we conduct in our homes. And so we have the opportunity and burden of crafting it ourselves. But we are not all wise or learned or creative enough to plan the kind of meaningful Seder ritual we want to have. Like most liturgical texts, we may know the words by heart but have trouble making sense of them. There is a lot of richness, but you have to know where and how to look.
To start, you need a Haggadah that focuses on making the text clear and easy to follow. The Yedid Nefesh Haggadah strives to be that book – the one that allows everyone around the table in the same book, on the same page. It’s meant to be a book that those who know the text well feel is made for them, and those who can't read the Hebrew at all will feel invited in. It tries to help you keep a sense of the forest and not get lost in the trees.
How does a book do that? What does that look like? That is what we will explore together – the challenge of designing a book that will actually make the task of leading an engaging Seder easier.
REGISTER
Register to join us in person at Tikvat Israel (Rockville, MD) or online. Barring technical issues, this program will be posted in our Program Recording Archive.
Click here to register to join us online.
Click here to register to join us in person at Tikvat Israel.
Rabbi Joshua Cahan, a Tefilah educator and author in New York City, compiled and edited the Yedid Nefesh bencher and introduced the new Yedid Nefesh Haggadah last Spring. He spent 11 years teaching Talmud and Tefilah at the Leffell School, and was the founder and director of the Northwoods Kollel at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. He holds Rabbinic Ordination and a Ph.D. in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
Avi West, z"l , was a deeply inspirational and highly respected Jewish educator in the Washington, D.C. Jewish community. We were privileged to have him serve on the Haberman Board of Directors for over five years. Avi was a mentor to many leaders in the field of Jewish studies, setting an example for all Jews to follow—not only in education but in life.
We invite you to join us as we learn together in Avi's memory.
YOU CAN Support the HABERMAN INSTITUTE IN AVI'S MEMORY by making a donation HERE.
The Haberman Institute extends a special thank you to Andrew R. Ammerman for sponsoring our Spring 2025 program lineup. He dedicates the semester’s learning in loving memory of Josephine and H. Max Ammerman and Stephen C. Ammerman.