It was curiosity turned into an obsession.
Alan Shebroe's collection of illustrated Haggadot, decades in the making, grew to 557 texts by the time Eyewitness News got to see it.
The Haggadah is a book read at the Passover Seder. It sets out the order of the ceremony held during dinner. Passover is a holiday commemorating the emancipation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.
Shebroe walked us through the library at Temple Beth Sholom Tuesday where his collection is on display. The catalog is broken up into seven categories:
- Hardcover editions
- Softcover editions
- Children's editions
- Haggadah artwork
- Non-book haggadot (scrolls, music etc)
- A timeline of the evolution of the Haggadah
- Annual acquisitions - all formats
They came as gifts or purchases online and used book stores.
"When I was a bar mitzvah teacher, a student gave me this Haggadah," he said as he pointed to the book. "It's the first time I had ever seen an illustrated Haggadah of any kind, and I made the mistake of asking myself, 'I wonder if there's any more?'"
There are two requirements for a Haggadah to land in Shebroe's collection: it must be illustrated and available. In his own home, Shebroe went with a more modern version.
"It also has the 10 deadly cocktails," he joked.
When asked whether those cocktails were on top of the four glasses of wine traditionally poured and consumed during the Seder, Shebroe replied, "Of course! This is the pregame."
The humor is endless, the artwork is captivating and the history is priceless.
Shebroe shared one book written and illustrated by Holocaust survivors.
"It was created by people who left the concentration camp in 1945, and their first Passover in 1946, they wanted to have their own Seder, but they didn't have any Haggadot, so they created their own from memory," said Shebroe.
His favorite is one of only 950 printed by an Australian author. It wasn't too popular at first, but Shebroe said today, it was valued at $2,500. But good luck getting your hands on one.
"They can't get one because the plates were destroyed," said Shebroe.
To experience this collection, Shebroe encourages people to come to Temple Beth Sholom.
It's free, but visitors are required to register ahead of time on the temple's website.
The books will be on display through April 27.