“By focusing on the tensions between the redemptive thrust of the traditional haggadah and the resistance to redemptive memory that characterizes Holocaust studies, You Shall Tell Your Children illuminates an important and central cluster of theological issues.”—Sara R. Horowitz, author of Voicing the Void: Muteness and Memory in Holocaust Fiction

“In this highly readable analysis of the complex relationship between Holocaust memory and the Passover haggadah, evidenced in a wide range of classical and contemporary texts, oral testimonies, and ritual and cinematic performances, Liora Gubkin enriches our understanding of both, examining the Shoah’s place at the Passover table and the space made, even during the Holocaust, for the Passover story.”—Oren Baruch Stier, author of Committed to Memory: Cultural Mediations of the Holocaust

Passover is among the most widely observed holidays for American Jews. During this festival of redemption, Jewish families retell the biblical story of Exodus using a ritual book known as a haggadah, often weaving modern tales of oppression through the biblical narrative. References to the Holocaust are some of the most common additions to contemporary haggadot. However, the parallel between ancient and modern oppression, which seems obvious to some, raises troubling questions for many others. Is it possible to find any redemptive meaning in the Nazi genocide? Are we adding value to this unforgivable moment in history?
   
Liora Gubkin critiques commemorations that violate memory by erasing the value of everyday life that was lost and collapse the diversity of responses both during the Shoah and afterward. She recounts oral testimonies from Holocaust survivors, cites references to the holiday in popular American culture, and analyzes examples of actual haggadot. Ultimately, Gubkin concludes that it is possible and important to make a space for Holocaust commemoration, all the time recognizing that haggadot must be constantly revisited and “performed.”

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Liora Gubkin is assistant professor of religious studies at California State University, Bakersfield.