<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1255">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff background="">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shalom,<BR><BR>From my perspective, the main
difference between these translations is the translation of "mesubin,"
literally," assembled or gathered." The RA is closest to the Hebrew in
leaving the occasion of the discussion unstated. YU and Polychrome assume that
the discussion was on the seder night and do not indcate that this is only
implied in the text. Chabad takes a middle road by using square brackets.
<BR><BR>The Polychrome interpolates the most explanation "to celebrate the first
night of Passover," etc. into the text. This is a style of translation usually
used if the target audience is assumed to have very little prior background. I
find it interesting that of all the haggadot, davka the Polychrome, which could
be considered the most scholarly, has that style of translation. However, not
all of their interpolations are necessary for an outsider to understand the
story. IMHO "gentle reproof " is purely editorial and not present in the
Hebrew. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Two of the translations I have at home add comments
to their translation. The CCAR-Bronstein 1974 Haggadah adds after the story, in
parenthesis, "This seder took place at a time of rebellion agaisnt Roman
oppression and the Seder was held in B'nai Brak, the town of Rabbi Akiva, who
was a leader of the revolt." Note that they stop short of saying that the Rabbis
were discussing the result. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In the 1942 revision of the Reconstructionist
Haggadah edited by Moredecai Kaplan, Eugene Kohn and Ira Eisenstein, BBS is
preceeded by the following introduction: "The Rabbis of old used to love to tell
and retell the story of Pesah. Once it happened that five Rabbis became so
interested in talking together about the freeing of the Israelites from Egypt,
that they stayed up all night. There is a quaint little tale told about these
five Rabbis:" </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shoshana</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<HR>
<FONT face=Arial size=2>Shoshana Michael-Zucker, Translations<BR>Levona
7/6<BR>Kfar Sava 44243 Israel<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>