In this rendition of the Passover story, the children of Israel do not play ice hockey or drink kosher l’Pesach maple syrup.
But the first-ever Canadian haggadah does have a distinctly Canuck vibe.
For one thing, “Canadian Haggadah Canadienne” is in three languages — English, French and Hebrew. And instead of the standard illustrations of the Israelites building the pyramids or Moses parting the Red Sea, it features archival photographs that trace the history of Canada’s Jewish community, the world’s fourth largest.
The volume offers, its introduction says, “a Canadian perspective on our timeless story of freedom — our Jewish history as seen through Canadian eyes.”
Compiled by Rabbi Adam Scheier of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal and Richard Marceau, general counsel and political adviser at the Ottawa-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the hefty, 168-page haggadah aims to “deepen the Canadian Jewish identity by presenting something that’s uniquely Canadian,” Scheir said.
Scheier, an American who migrated northward 11 years ago, uses that perspective to bring the unique Canadian gestalt into focus. Marceau, a French Quebecer who converted to Judaism in 2004, can claim a similar cultural awareness, because he was raised “on the border” between English-speaking and Francophone Canada.
Interspersed with commentary from 20 rabbis across Canada, spanning all denominations, are some 100 archival photos of Jewish life from every region. The haggadah cover shows a gaggle of children munching on matzah at the 1948 opening of a matzah factory in Montreal.
And, of course, among the photos is the obligatory hockey moment: Current Prime Minister Stephen Harper hoists a Team Israel jersey on his visit to Israel last year.