Seder Haggadah Shel Pesach
Livorno (Leghorn), Italy – 1936 (תרצ״ו)
Handwritten dedication marking it as a wedding gift.
This copy carries traces of real Seder use, with traditional wine stains and a handwritten dedication marking it as a wedding gift.
A rare Passover Haggadah printed in Livorno for the Baghdadi Jewish community, commissioned by the Baghdad publisher יצחק יוסף חיים אעבודי.
Livorno was one of the most important centers of Hebrew printing, and Jewish communities across the Middle East—including Baghdad—often printed their finest religious works there due to the high quality typography and paper.
This edition includes the traditional Sharh, the Haggadah translated into the Arabic dialect spoken by Iraqi Jews.
The translation is printed in Hebrew characters (Judeo-Arabic) and represents an important linguistic record of Baghdadi Jewish culture.
Printed in 1936, shortly before the upheavals that transformed Jewish life in the Middle East and before Jewish publishing in Italy was restricted following the 1938 racial laws.
Collector Note
Livorno-printed Baghdadi Hebrew books are increasingly sought after by collectors of Middle Eastern Jewish history and Judeo-Arabic literature, as they document the culture of the once-flourishing Jewish community of Baghdad.
This particular copy appears to have been given as a gift to a bride, as indicated by the handwritten dedication inside.
Such presentation copies add an additional personal historical layer to the book.
Title
סדר הגדה של פסח
Place of Printing
Livorno (Leghorn), Italy
Year
1936 – תרצ״ו
Publisher
יצחק יוסף חיים אעבודי – Baghdad
Language
Hebrew with Judeo-Arabic translation
Tradition
Sephardic – Baghdadi Minhag