The Haggadah (Hebrew: הגדה,
"telling") is a Jewish religious text that
sets out the order of the Passover Seder. Reading the
Haggadah is a fulfillment of the scriptural commandment
to each Jew to "tell your son" about the Jewish
liberation from slavery in Egypt as described in the
Book of Exodus in the Torah. ("And thou shalt tell
thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which
the LORD did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.
" Ex. 13:8)
Sephardi and Oriental Jews also apply the term Haggadah
to the service itself, as it constitutes the act of
"telling your son."
Authorship
According to the Jewish tradition the Haggadah was compiled
during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods, although the
exact date is unknown. The Haggadah could not have been
written earlier than the time of Rabbi Yehudah bar Elaay
(circa 170 CE) who is the last tanna to be quoted in
the Haggadah. According to most Talmudic commentaries
Rav and Shmuel argued on the compilation of the Haggadah,[1]
and hence it wasn't completed by then. Based on a Talmudic
statement, it was completed by the time of Rav Nachman
(mentioned in Pesachim 116a). There is a dispute however
to which Rav Nachman, the Talmud was referring. According
to some commentators this was Rav Nachman bar Yaakov[2]
(circa 280 CE) while others maintain this was Rav Nachman
bar Yitzchak (360 CE).[3]
However the Malbim,[4] along with a minority of commentators
believe that Rav and Shmuel were not arguing on its
compilation but on its interpretation and hence was
completed before then. According to this explanation;
the Haggadah was written during the lifetime of Rav
Yehudah haNasi,[5] the compiler of the Mishna. The Malbim
theorizes that the Haggadah was written by Rav Yehudah
haNasi himself.
