Maxwell House Haggadah

• Illustration — 1933 edition • Illustration — Inside the 1933 edition A Haggadah is a ritual Jewish text containing prayers, hymns, Midrashic statements, and commentary on the story of Passoverthe Jewish holiday celebrating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This text is recited by participants at a Passover Seder. The Haggadah has appeared in print since the 15th century and thousands of editions have been published. The Maxwell House Haggadah debuted in 1932 as part of a marketing campaign for Maxwell House kosher-for-Passover coffee by Joseph Jacobs Advertising originally of New York City and currently based in Teaneck, New Jersey. Copies were distributed in-store with the purchase of Maxwell House Coffee. While other kosher for Passover food companiessuch as Manischewitz and Streit'salso distributed their own Haggadahs, the Maxwell House Haggadah became the best known and most widely used in American Jewish homes. Carole B. Balin, professor of Jewish history, contends that this popularity was due to three factors: • The growing need for a Haggadah by American Jews interested in conducting a Passover Seder but having little familiarity with religious observance • The easy availability of the Maxwell House Haggadah, acquired via "a trip to the local supermarket" • The simple, "user-friendly" English and Hebrew layout Fenster notes that until the introduction of the Maxwell House Haggadah, American families purchased new and different Haggadahs each year for their Passover Seder guests. The easy availability and textual consistency of each year's Maxwell House Haggadah made it ideal for expanding the family's Haggadah collection. The Maxwell House Haggadah has been issued each year since 1932, with a two-year break during World War II due to paper shortages. As of April 2020, the Haggadah has distributed over 60 million copies. Maxwell House collaborated with Amazon in 2019 to create a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel–based Haggadah, which uniquely contained a recipe card for "Midge's Brisket."

In 2011, the Maxwell House Haggadah introduced a new English translation which replaced the archaic phrases in the original and also incorporated gender-neutral language. The 58-page reissue replaced the formal thee, thou, wherefore, and saith with You, why, and say. It refers to God as "Monarch" instead of "King" and as "Parent" instead of "Father", and replaces the familiar "Four Sons" with "four different sorts of children". The translation was done by Henry Frisch of Teaneck, New Jersey, a high school English teacher. No alterations were made in the traditional Hebrew text.

Originally a "dull green", the cover was changed to an azure background in the 1960s. This Haggadah, featuring the "Good to the Last Drop" logo and the words "Maxwell House Haggadah" on a plain blue background, became a cultural icon. American Jews who remember using the Maxwell House Haggadah in their childhood homes consider it a tradition, continuing to use it at their own families' Passover Seders. In 1997 the Hallmark company reproduced the familiar blue cover of the Maxwell House Haggadahs on one of its Passover greeting cards, which described them as "cultural iconsprized family possessions that have been handed down through the generations and are a warm reminder of the past".

• Illustration — U.S. servicemen at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, conduct a Passover Seder using the Maxwell House Haggadah, March 2010 • Illustration — President Barack Obama and guests read from the Maxwell House Haggadah at the 2010 White House Passover Seder The Maxwell House Haggadah is "the most widely used Haggadah in the world", with an estimated 50 million copies in print as of 2011. One million copies were distributed in 2006 and 2011. The Maxwell House Haggadah is distributed only in the United States. It has been distributed in national U.S. supermarket chains such as A&P and King Kullen, at Shop-Rite and Pathmark stores serving Jewish neighborhoods in the northeastern United States, and at independent groceries. Copies are available with the purchase of Maxwell House coffee. Some 5,000 to 10,000 copies are mailed to customers who pay for shipping. The Maxwell House Haggadah is used at Passover Seders in homes, schools, senior centers, and prisons. The United States Army has issued it to soldiers in every military campaign since the 1930s. It was used in underground Seders in the Soviet Union, and by President Barack Obama and his guests at the annual White House Passover Seder during his presidency from 2009 to 2016.