HAGGĜDHĀH (“narration”). - Jewish ceremonial for the celebration of the evening of Passover.
The texts are ancient and are found, with variants, in the liturgical compositions of the gā'ōnic period (v. GE'ŌNIM); their origins go back to an earlier period. The ceremony begins with four questions asked by a child as to the reason for unusual things and rites. This is followed by the historical evocation of the exodus from Egypt, the remembrance of the wonders performed by Mosè at God’s command, psalms of praise (131-18) or hallēl (v.); the meal with the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs, the blessing over the food, and the second part of the psalms of praise (cf. Mt. 26, 30; Mc. 14, 26). The various narrative texts are already contained in Talmudic literature. There then follow Ps. 134-36 (“great” hallēl) and the magnificent hymn The soul of every living being, a hymn which in the Middle Ages was considered to have been composed by the apostle Pietro. Various poetic compositions were later added at the end of the h. Illustrated editions of the h. are often of the highest artistic value because of their woodcuts.
H. denotes, in a general sense, the homiletic sayings and writings intended to edify through examples and narratives, as opposed to the hālākhāh (v.); whereas the hālākhāh constitutes the essence of the Mišnāh, the h. is fundamental in the Midhrāš (v.).