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, produced in Italy by the scribe and artist Joel ben Simeon in 1454, is an exceptional sample of a decorated Haggadah manuscript. Its fine decorations and illustrations are a testament to the wealth of its patron and his concern for beautifying the tradition.  

On this page, beneath the declaration “next year in Jerusalem,” we see this manuscript’s colophon, where the scribe tells us who he is and provides details of the creation of the work. In his colophon, Joel ben Shimon tells us that he is originally from Cologne, on the Rhine River, and that his Ashkenazi name is “Faivush.” He adds that he is responsible for the entire manuscript, including both its scribal rendering and artistry—a very rare combination in the production of manuscripts.