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    Hare hunting & the seder – Ask the Rabbi

    Q. I have a medieval Haggadah which illustrates the Kiddush with scenes of hare-hunting. What has this to do with Pesach?


    A. When Pesach begins on Saturday night, we say both Kiddush and Havdalah, but in which order?

    In the Talmud (Pes. 102b), the sequence of b’rachot is given as yayin (wine), Kiddush, ner (candle), Havdalah and z’man (time, i.e. festival).

    This sequence is summed up as yak-n’-haz. This sounds like the German, jagt-den-Hasen – “hunt the hare”.

    As a result, some Haggadot and Machzorim illustrated the relevant page with a hunting scene, even though Jews viewed animal hunting with great ethical disfavour.

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