Passover is around the corner and many families are buying new Haggadot for the traditional Seder. But one buyer in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak has gone to extremes, with a Passover Haggadah recently sold for the astronomical amount of $100,000. The spectacular Haggadah was produced by Malchut Waxberger, a company that sells high-quality Judaica to the haredi community. It was handwritten and illustrated by one main artist and a staff of six painters on real parchment, in a process that took over three years. The Haggadah weighs 4.2 kilograms (9.3 pounds), and is ornamented with 24-karat gold. Each of the 76 pages was worked on for hours by the artists. Yoel Waxberger, who painted the Haggadah, said, "The simple pages took six to seven hours of work, while the more complicated ones took 50 hours. If there had not been a team working with me, it would have taken nine years to finish." The Haggadah has been for sale for the past year at the Bnei Brak store, awaiting a buyer. According to the store's general manager, David Mordar, "We knew someone would buy it in the end. People come from all over Israel, and even abroad, to see it. We made 100 copies, but on fake parchment, and each one sold for 1,800 shekels [about $490]." The buyer's identity is secret, but the store said that he is the CEO of a well-known international corporation. "It is hard to give the Haggadah up," Waxberger said, "We worked on this creation for so long. Each time I open it I enjoy looking at it. But this buyer was serious. We opened it and made a toast." Waxberger also said he was sure the Haggadah would not be left on the table during the Passover Seder: "It's too dangerous. One has to be careful of all the crumbs and ensure that no wine spills on it. It is more of a collector's item. In any case, the buyer will definitely enjoy it."
