The Passover Haggadah is perhaps the most popular Jewish liturgical book after the siddur. Each year families gather around their tables to retell the story of the Exodus of the nascent Jewish community from Egypt, using an ancient text made ever-relevant by each generation's added commentaries. Now the OU PRESS [small caps] has the honor of publishing Rabbi Norman Lamm’s Haggadah commentary, a work of brilliant insights expressed in Rabbi Lamm’s inimitable style, articulate and engaging, while sensitive and moving.

Rabbi Norman Lamm, Chancellor of Yeshiva University and Rosh HaYeshiva of its affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, is one of the most gifted and profound thinkers of the Modern Orthodox community. He was the founding editor of Tradition, the journal of Orthodox thought published by the Rabbinical Council of America, and to this day convenes the Orthodox Forum, a think tank of rabbis, academicians, and community leaders that meets annually to discuss topics of concern in the Orthodox community. Before assuming the presidency of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Lamm served for many years as Rabbi of The Jewish Center, one of New York City’s most prominent and vibrant Orthodox synagogues. A prolific author in the field of Jewish philosophy and law, a distinguished academician, and a charismatic pulpit rabbi, Rabbi Lamm has made, and continues to make, an extraordinary impact on the Jewish community. With a rare combination of penetrating scholarship and eloquence of expression, he has successfully presented a Torah view of contemporary Jewish life that speaks movingly to all.

For this commentary, Rabbi Lamm’s weekly sermons and divrei Torah delivered while he was Rabbi of The Jewish Center have been culled for his insights on the Haggadah and the Passover holiday. Together with relevant selections from his written works, they make up this new and compelling commentary on the Haggadah. We now have the opportunity on Passover evening to join Rabbi Lamm at his Royal Table and retell the story of the Exodus with new understanding and insight.

The commentary was compiled and edited by Dr. Joel B. Wolowelsky, Dean of the Faculty at the Yeshivah of Flatbush. He is associate editor of Tradition and the series MeOtzar HoRav: Selected Writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He is a member of the steering committee of the Orthodox Forum and serves as a member of various professional advisory boards, including the Bar Ilan University Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, the Boston Initiative for Excellence in Jewish Day Schools, the Pardes Educators Program in Jerusalem, and Atid: the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions.