The Mysteries of the Birds' Head Haggada

📜 In the first of two newsletters focused on illuminated Passover haggadot, we take a look at medieval Ashkenazi aniconism and the perplexing phenomenon of depicting humans as animal-headed.

You’re reading Stories from Jewish History, a weekly newsletter exploring Jewish thinkers, events, and artifacts, from the famous to the obscure. Illuminated haggadot don’t get going until the central Middle ages, but once they do, they’re amazing creations. Though still fundamentally rare material objects, there are a number of lavish surviving copies,…