Image of the Week: The Hungry Haggadah
© D. Yael Bernhard
Here's a rather cartoon-like illustration that I did for Larry Bush's clever and entertaining book, The Hungry Haggadah. This rhyming tale of a starving child languishing through an endless seder is full of Jewish humor and irony. The main character's best friend Pete, an Afro-American boy, keeps asking questions that further delay the meal. The parents then give forth a rollicking version of the story of Exodus, which gave me a rare opportunity to create ridiculous illustrations. Larry insisted that Pharaoh have a pedestal instead of legs, and a necklace of stinky fish skeletons. No wonder he's so grouchy. Baby Moses floats down the Nile not in a basket of reeds, but a suitcase covered with tourist stickers. When the daughter of Pharaoh rescues him, she shows her new baby off in a stroller featuring fashion hieroglyphics. And if you look closely, you'll see the Israelites in the illustration above are talking on cell phones and carrying store-bought matzah across the Red Sea.
This book was a lot of fun to create. If you want a copy, I can probably get one by bugging Larry, who is probably playing with his grandson right now. To my knowledge, the book is not for sale on Amazon or in stores.
On a more serious note, Passover is a holiday that celebrates liberation. The world is not lacking in Pharaohs today – tyrants and oppressors that may take the form of a cruel leader or any destructive power. Pharaoh-like forces dwell within us, too. The seder gives us not only food to eat, but food for thought. Like many Jewish holidays, it's a time for both discussion and introspection. Eight days of dietary pattern interruption is enough to make life feel different. The beauty of Passover is that it's home-based, and therefore has endless potential to evolve according to individual, family, and cultural traditions. Religious and secular people alike can relate to this holiday.
Spring is in the air, giving a feeling of renewal and hope to this time – as well as a sense of connection to my Christian friends and colleagues, whose Holy Week is historically related to Passover. Wishing all of you an uplifting Easter – and to my Jewish readers, a hearty Chag Sameach (happy holiday).
D Yael Bernhard