PASSOVER
A Familiar Tradition
The Maxwell House Haggadah plays a role in many families’ seders.
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f coffee is made from beans, and beans are prohibited during Passover, does that mean we would have to go uncaffinated during the weeklong holiday? In the 1920s, this was a serious question because some mistakenly thought coffee beans were legumes. They are not. Still, this created a problem for Maxwell House because Jewish customers weren’t buying coffee during Passover. To help sales, the company enlisted the help of Joseph Jacobs, an advertising executive known for marketing to the Jewish community. Jacobs consulted with a rabbi who certified the coffee kosher for Passover, thus launching Maxwell House into one of the longest and arguably one of the most effective direct marketing campaigns ever. At the time, ads in Jewish newspapers stated, “It is a mitzvah to tell you that this Passover you won’t have to turn down the pleasure of your favorite drink. For Maxwell House Coffee is kosher for Passover.” Jacobs convinced the coffee maker to publish a branded Haggadah based on the initial success. First printed 90 years ago, the book became
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FALCON FAMILY
JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ABOVE: The Falcon family celebrate their seder with the Maxwell House Haggadah. RIGHT: A 2019 limited edition of the Maxwell House Haggadah with a shout-out to the Amazon Prime TV show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
one of the most widely used Haggadot in America. There are more than 60 million copies in print, and a half-million more published each year. Teri Falcon of Oak Park treasures the 25 or so Maxwell House Haggadot she and her family consistently use. The booklets belonged to her grandparents. When they stopped hosting seders, she inherited them. Her grandparents have since passed away, but the Haggadot that probably came
from what was once a Farmer Jack grocery store at 10 Mile and Coolidge will forever grace her Passover table. Some are missing pages; others are held together with duct tape. Familiarity with the text and fond memories evoked from reading the wine-stained pages are some of the reasons Falcon won’t give them up. When she was gifted a set of Haggadot not published by the coffee maker, set a set Haggadot not published by the coffee
maker, she donated them. Elie Rosenfeld, CEO of Joseph Jacobs Advertising, said comfort and nostalgia are a few reasons the Haggadot are still widely used. “It allows a family to do Passover in a way that they are comfortable. It doesn’t preach. It’s simplistic and lets the family make the seder their own. It doesn’t bring in anything extra. It just gives you the most basic aspects of what the seder needs continued on page 39 APRIL 7 • 2022
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