Haggadah le-Pesah, Domestic Service for the First Night of Passover…, Edited by the Rev. D.W. Marks, London: J.Wertheimer, 1842

Reform Judaism had its roots in Germany in the early nineteenth century, and the first Reform prayer book appeared there, in Hamburg, in 1818. However, the first separate edition of a Reform Haggadah did not appear until 1842 and was published, not in Germany, but in England. In the late 1830s some members of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation in London came into conflict with the communal leaders over the issue of reforms in the service. After several unsuccessful attempts at compromise, in 1840 the group formed an independent Reform congregation known as the West London Synagogue of British Jews. They hired the Reverend David Woolf Marks who produced the present haggadah.  The title pointedly indicates that the service is intended for only one night of Passover, reflecting the prevailing tendency among the reformers that the second day of festivals be abandoned altogether. The content of the haggadah includes lengthy scriptural additions, and surprisingly, eliminates three of the four cups of wine, among the most recognizable characteristic elements of the traditional Seder.