What Does the Oldest Haggadah Teach Us?
Dear Friends,
In mid-1990s Afghanistan, persecuted Shi’a Muslims (Hazaras) discovered the oldest Jewish book in a Buddhist cave, near where the Bamyan Buddhas would soon thereafter be destroyed by the Taliban. The age and even origins of what is now known as the Afghan Liturgical Quire (ALQ) would have been forever lost were it not for an intrepid researcher at the Christian-founded Museum of the Bible.
Intrigued by an article in Tablet, Herschel Hepler launched a years-long project to meticulously study the ALQ in partnership with Jewish scholars. The Museum of the Bible adopted a human rights-based approach to cultural heritage by partnering with the Afghan Jewish Community as represented by the American Sephardi Federation, the Afghan Jewish Foundation, and Congregation Anshei Shalom to ensure the ALQ’s preservation, accessibility, and promotion.
Within the book’s pages is curiously an upside-down Pesaḥ Haggadah, making the oldest Jewish codex also the oldest Passover text. Despite being about 1,300 years old, the ALQ is remarkably legible and can be understood by anyone who can read Hebrew today. With few differences, this is the seder we know and love.
(Photo by Ardon Bar Hama and Courtesy of the Museum of the Bible)
As Jews around the world prepare to celebrate Passover, the ALQ reminds us of the continuity and unity of the Jewish people, that we do not dwell alone, and indeed have a moral mission for all humanity.
The ASF advanced these purposes this past week at the 5th Anniversary ASF Sephardi House Shabbaton and Leadership Summit in Miami, as well as the 3rd Jewish Africa Conference at Cape Town, South Africa.
Founded five years ago by the visionary Joshua Benaim, ASF’s Sephardi House is the only national fellowship program enlightening and empowering Jewish students by infusing student life with Sephardic teachings that have been a source of strength throughout the ages. Since 2020, more than 110 ASF Sephardi House Fellows have been making a difference on their campuses by organizing hundreds of Jewish programs that have engaged thousands of their peers.
Please support Sephardi students!
For three days of discussion and action this week, the Mimouna Association, American Jewish Committee, and American Sephardi Federation brought together rabbis, scholars, community leaders, and diplomats from Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Israel, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to discuss the past, present, and future of Jewish life on the continent.
While preparing to experience anew the story of the first African Jewish leader, Moses, Jewish Africa Conference participants signed the Cape Town Declaration, which reads in part: “Central to the African Jewish experience are the values of dignity, decency, freedom, fairness, tradition, and community. Through centuries of survival despite persecution, exile, and privation, African Jewish communities are today models of identity, resilience, and hope.”
Sitting around the seder, please share these inspiring stories with your family and friends!
From Cape Town to DC and Miami to NYC, the ASF is committed to bringing all Jews together and building bridges with allies to achieve breakthroughs. All of this is only possible thanks to your generous support, which we hope you will renew to help us grow.
Shabbat Shalom & Mo’adim leSimḥa,
Jason Guberman
Executive Director, American Sephardi Federation
P.S. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, donating securities, or planned giving options, please email info@americansephardi.org or leave a message at 212.294.8350. A financial professional from AllianceBernstein is standing by to speak with you. To donate by mail, please send a check payable to “American Sephardi Federation” to 15 W 16th St., New York, NY, 10011.