A Haggadah is the script for the seder ritual on the first nights of Passover. The word means “telling,” and the seder is a ritual for the telling of the Passover story—the Exodus from Egypt—in a particular rabbinic fashion. 

This Haggadah was written by the great Italian scribe, Abraham Farissol (ca. 1451- ca. 1525), in 1515. Farissol performed many responsibilities in the Jewish communities of northern Italy, but he was particularly sought after as a scribe. Farissol’s style is clear and elegant, following forms that are easier to read and write than older scribal writing. This style is clearly influenced by the new “humanistic script,” invented in the early 15th century and used by Christian scribes for the writing of Latin. 

On this page you can see the illustration of the last of the “Four Sons,” the one who doesn’t know how to ask. He is a boy dressed in common but distinguished Italian renaissance clothing, suggesting again that Jews have typically dressed just like their neighbors. 

Though this is an illustration, it does not appear in the right place, next to the text for the wicked son. Is this due to lack of coordination between the scribe and artist? Did the artist not understand the Hebrew (perhaps because he was a Christian?), and fail to get proper direction?