The Gateways Haggadah: A Seder for the Whole Family

This impressively imagined but easy-to-follow Haggadah is produced by Gateways, a Boston agency that provides Jewish programming to children with special needs (Redner is a teacher on staff). The brief text (the seder is designed to run 30 minutes) is accompanied by photographs of diverse families, while the songs, prayers, and Passover story are illustrated with picture communication symbols used in special education classrooms; “Avadim Hayinu” (We were slaves but now we are free!) and “Dayenu” (It would have been enough) become newly vivid. The ancient story of the four sons (here, as in most progressive Haggadahs, the “four children”) acknowledges that “some people enjoy special occasions, but some do not” and turns the four archetypes into children with challenges who, with the loving help of parents, find productive ways to be present at the seder: the child who is overwhelmed by “new routines, foods and objects” begins learning about Passover in advance so the holiday feels more familiar. Honoring the structure and rituals of the seder while granting participants flexibility, this Haggadah achieves its goal of being sensitive and celebratory. All ages. (Jan.)