Abstract
The English phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem,” which appeared in no American Passover haggadah prior to 1942, took on new meaning following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. It was reinterpreted again following the 1967 Six Day War, reflecting the impact of the reunification of Jerusalem upon diverse segments of the American Jewish community. Subsequently, American haggadot employed the phrase on behalf of Soviet Jews and in other freedom-related contexts; it also came to embody the maddening complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict. As the phrase became a marker of audience, religious commitments and politics, translations and interpretations of the original Hebrew declaration grew increasingly fraught and complex. The appearance, disappearance, translation, illustration and interpretation of “Next Year in Jerusalem” testifies to its significance not only within the haggadah but also within the larger religious, cultural and political life of the American Jew.