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Stephen P. Durchslag: “The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah”
May 20, 2012
The Jewish holiday of Passover recalls and celebrates the freeing of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The haggadah is the book that contains the ritual guide to the Passover Seder meal, along with scripture passages, commentary, prayers, and songs. For centuries the haggadah has been one of the most celebrated items of Jewish literature and art. The Exodus narrative and its primary theme of liberation from oppression have resonated with people in many times and places over the centuries, who have adapted the haggadah to respond to political and social developments such as the Holocaust, feminism, and gay rights. There are many examples of both handwritten and printed haggadot with intricate illustrations. Some haggadot are unique masterpieces, while others have been printed in large, widely available editions.
Stephen Durchslag holds what is considered to be , numbering some 4,500 volumes dating from 1485 to the present day. Drawing on examples from his collection, he will show how the haggadah is a central element of the Jewish experience, a text that sustains both tradition and innovation, and is a vehicle for myriad expressions of the Jewish imagination.
Durchslag, now retired, was an attorney for 44 years at the Winston and Strawn Law Firm in Chicago, serving as Chair of the Intellectual Properties Department of the firm. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. His wife Ruth is an ordained rabbi and psychologist, and they are the parents of two beautiful daughters.
Durchslag’s talk is given in conjunction with the MOCRA exhibition Archie Granot: The Papercut Haggadah.
above:
Two attendees examine one of Stephen Durchslag’s haggadot after his talk. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.
Watch Stephen P. Durchslag: The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah
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2012-03-27 |
2012 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Image of the Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Consciousness” |
2011-10-06 |
2011 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Pursuit of the Spirit: The Renewed Interest in the Spiritual and Religious Dimensions in Contemporary Art” |
2011-05-01 |
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “Georges Rouault and the Art of Sacred Engagement” |
2010-11-15 |
Terrence Demspey, S.J.: “Creating a Religious Environment through Contemporary Art and Architecture” |
2010-03-28 |
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Conscience” |
2009-12-01 |
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Michael Morris, O.P.: “Moving Pictures: The Bible and Beyond” |
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Peter Frank: “An Oskar Fischinger Tribute” |
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Robert Rosenblum: “DoDo Jin Ming: An Art Historian's View” |
2003-09-07 |
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2002-04-30 |
Fred D. Gray: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A Study That Should Never Have Occurred |
2002-01-31 |
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2002-01-26 |
Thomas Sokolowski: “The Last Temptation: Andy Warhols Art as Belief” |
2000-11-30 |
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2001-04-06 |
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1999-04-15 |
Two Lectures: Ellen Dissanayake and Jack Renard |
1999-03-27 |
Bernard Maisner: “The Art of the Illuminator” |
1998-03-22 |
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1997-11-15 |
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1997-07-24 |
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1997-06-07 |
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1997-02-27 |
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1996-05-19 |
The Artist as Poet: Readings by Edward Boccia |
1995-05-20 |
Ian Friend: “The Edge of Belief” |
1995-05-04 |
Peter Selz: “Degenerate Art” |
1995-02-05 |
Lynn Hague in recital |
1994-11-13 |
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS” |
1994-12-01 |
Day Without Art |
1994-11-05 |
Thomas Sokolowski: “The Changing Face of AIDS” |
1994-11-01 |
The Amici String Quartet in recital |
1994-10-15 |
Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the TIme of AIDS dance program and opening reception |
1993-10-29 |
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1993-11-05 |
An Evening with Katherine Dunham |
1992-11-07 |
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