Reddit mentions: The best books about haggadahs

I was the "Jewish Mom" of my college friends, so hosted seders every years for my Jewish friends, and we invited some non-Jewish friends who were interested in coming, too.

Here's what I did: Find a grocery store near you that has the Maxwell House Haggadah. It's pretty basic, all the prayers are transliterated, so everyone can read along, and it has all the fun things that your Jewish friends, practicing or not, will probably remember from when they were kids. I'm pretty sure they are free, but if not, you can get them online for $2 per book. Go through the Haggadah first, if you're leading the seder, and decide which portions you'll do and which portions you'll leave out, this will make things run more smoothly. If you're looking for something with a bit more depth, but still approachable, I'd also recommend The New American Haggadah. It's got commentary from 4 different authors who all approach Judaism from different angles, so there's something in it for (almost) everyone.

You can find seder plates pretty cheap, but if you don't have one/can't afford one/don't want to buy one, no problem. My first year hosting, I used a normal dinner plate with a bunch of ramekins arranged around it. You can also get a bone for the seder plate pretty cheap or free from the butcher section of your grocery store.

As far as food goes, I'm not much help, but I will say there's no shame in making the dinner part of things potluck-style. Assign people certain dishes to make or bring. Cooking for 10 people when you're not used to it can be expensive and difficult and there's no reason to carry all of that yourself.

Finally, enjoy yourself. It sounds like the group attending the seder will not be very familiar with anything that goes on. Follow the ritual of the seder, use the Haggadah, tell the story, but don't make it into a serious, formal affair. Actually choose your youngest friend to ask the 4 questions usually assigned to the youngest child. We used to have our non-Jewish friends search for the Affikomen, but you can hide it yourself and have everyone go search for it.

I'd be happy to answer any more specific questions you may have. Like I said, I hosted on a college budget, so you can do it, too!

Firstly, I second LazerA's comment. I can't personally speak for the classic commentaries he mentions, but if they're classics, you can't really go wrong. Everything else he says is spot on (I would just add/clarify, re: going quickly: the important thing is to keep people engaged, interested, and involved. But if you can elaborate without losing people, that's excellent. Also, faffing is the real killer. Eg when no one can decide what wine to try next and the pouring becomes an event in itself).

Personally, I prefer the standard Artscroll as others have said. Not despite, but because it is just the basics, with a basic translation. I find there's more than enough to discuss just in the pshat and the midrashim mentioned in the Haggadah itself. (And this is enhanced greatly, as others have said, by going through something (or a selection of things) more in depth.

And you can't go too far wrong with Artscroll products, as a general rule. They sell a bunch of different Haggadahs, it seems.

Other than that, we generally have a large selection lying around. The family standards are the Becker (especially for the halachic element. What to do when), the Maharal Haggadah, of course, is a compilation of the Maharal's very deep explanations of the themes in the Haggadah. I've heard that Rabbi Berel Wein's Haggadah is very good. As kids we enjoyed this. And others I can't remember off-hand.

Per this comment (about feminist values etc), there's A Different Night, which I don't personally agree with, but some people I know enjoy. It includes commentaries and thought from a broad spectrum of Jewish thought, and lots of interesting customs and ways to keep various people engaged.

An Amazon search for Haggadah give thousands of results, some look extremely interesting. I can't recommend the ones I haven't seen, but it might be worth taking a look, you might find exactly the thing you're looking for :)

Thus doesn't answer your question, but I'm putting it here anyways because the thread is stickied.

The Katz Passover Haggadah

Direct from Feldheim

It's definitely meant for kids, but the detail in the phenomenal illustrations makes that anyone could enjoy it. It's not just random detail either, there is a section in the back of the Haggadah that explains different details in each picture and the sources for them. I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a Haggadah, whether they're looking for that type of Haggadah or not.

Sorry if I sound like I'm shilling for Feldheim, I'm really not. I just think it's that amazing.

My family always uses Maxwell House but I really recommend looking at the New American Haggadah. It was created by several contemporary Jewish authors including Jonathan Safran Foer, Lemony Snicket, and Nathan Englander. It's very beautifully designed and the commentary is poetic and thought provoking, funny at times and somber at others. I'm not sure how practical it is to be used at a seder but I'd definitely like to own one.

edit- genuinely curious, why didn't you like the haggadah? to whoever downvoted

I'd recommend R' Yosef Zvi Rimon's Haggadah and not just because I edited it.

He's a brilliant Rav, and undoubtedly will be in the talks for Chief Rabbi one day. Great insights, discussion points, games to play with the kids, etc.

Wow, this seems like a case of IRL typosquatting: there is a much more famous New American Haggadah which OP's friend may have intended to buy instead.

I went to two seforim stores and finally picked new haggadahs for this year - Shirat Miriam by Rav Rimon and Haggaddah for the Curious. They'll suit me and my in-laws' seder pretty well this year. And I want to get Gadi Pollack's Desert Diary to read with my kids between Pesach and Shavuos.

People like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Praying-Fire-Rabbi-Heshy-Kleinman/dp/1422600157

And this is very interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Rav-Schwab-Prayer-ArtScroll-Shimon/dp/1578195128

Also on Amazon. But given the examples it looks like some of them are from when the phrase came into existence, not necessarily when a particular passage was added to the haggadah or the prayer in the haggadah (though I could be wrong). I will still buy this, it looks really cool!

Well, if you're looking for controversial, you probably could get somewhere with The Open Orthodox Haggadah.
Possibly check out A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn. There's A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices, The Holistic Haggadah, Carlebach Haggadah, and the Koren Ethiopian Haggadah as a few more suggestions.

Suggestions from my wife.

Women's Passover Companion

Women's Seder Sourcebook

Miriam's Cup

It's from the Katz Haggada illustrated by Gadi Pollack.

The (unofficial) Hogwarts Haggadah

https://www.amazon.com/unofficial-Hogwarts-Haggadah-Moshe-Rosenberg/dp/0692859055

I've spent a little time around R' Herzfeld, and he very much identifies with OO. He even wrote a whole sectarian haggadah.

Rabbi Rimon's Shirat Miriam Haggadah.

My wife and I just bought the Safran Foer hagada and plan to go over it this evening. We will report back!

Rey Lead > BB8 Roll with the Punches >> Insight >>>>>>>> BB8 Heal/Rey Self Cleanse.

That’s for the first Zeta.

As for her first Seder, this Haggadah isn’t bad.

Also, I’m disappointed you edited that typo and made my wonderful joke look insane. :(