Why Haggadahs Have Pictures of Rabbit Hunts

Since the Middle Ages, Jews have created or commissioned lavishly illustrated Haggadahs for Passover, which constitute some of the finest works of Jewish art. A surprising number of these contain a depiction of a rabbit hunt—not an especially Jewish activity, nor one connected to the Exodus—usually around the same place in the text. The reason involves a situation that occurs only on years like this, where a seder takes place on Saturday night, and Havdalah, the ceremony marking the end of Sabbath, must be integrated into the seder—necessitating five blessings that must be said in the proper order. Benjamin Resnick explains: