A Preview of the Abayudaya Haggadah Supplement
In the 100th year of the Jewish people of Uganda, called Abayudaya, the Cantors Assembly ventured on a mission there to build a sacred bridge of peoplehood and to explore the unique aspects and commonalities of our musical heritages. Additionally, several cantors also visited the emerging Abayudaya community in Kenya.
To retell our story every year, Jews gather on Passover and read from the Haggadah, which literally means “the telling.” It tells of our journeys, our struggles, and our ultimate redemption through the words of Torah. What a perfect vehicle for telling the story of the Abayudaya.
This preview is just a sample of much more to come. It is but one section of the Haggadah, meant to enhance the experience of Jewish families at their Pesach Sedarim. The intention of the Cantors Assembly is to provide a more elaborate print and audio supplement, l’shana habah, in the year to come.
Download/Print and Listen
Print at home: The free downloadable Abayudaya Haggadah Supplement Preview files are formatted to be printed on most home and office printers. 8 pages.
Listen: We are pleased to present three preview audio files, recorded during the Cantors Assembly Abayudaya Solidarity Mission.
- Dayenu - What does the word ‘enough’ mean? Who can think of ‘ample’ when one is searching for the ‘essential’? The supplement includes the answers to such questions from members of the Abayudaya, who lack so many of life’s conveniences and even access to some essential elements of life. This recording is the familiar melody, sung by teens and young adults.
- The Four Questions - Listen to the Abayudaya youth sing the familiar melody in their native language of Luganda, the Bantu language of the Baganda ethnic group in the African Great Lakes region. Discuss at your seder table how different and alike we are as am ehad lev ehad [one people with one heart].
- Psalm 150 - This recording, made in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, calls for the praise of God through instruments, voices, and the body, and closes with the beautiful invitation, “Let everything that has breath praise God.” You will hear Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the Chief Rabbi of Uganda and spiritual leader of Nabugoye, lead the singing together with accompanying Abayudaya members and local musicians. Hazzanim Michael Stein (violin), Jeremy Stein (flute), and Michael Weis (voice) contributed to this Ugandan-American fusion.