Summary Of Sarajevo Haggadah's 'Wine Stain'

Throughout People of the Book, it is evident that the Sarajevo Haggadah touches the lives of many of the characters who interact with it. The prayer book possesses a rich history from traveling through many time periods and to many destinations. Character growth is emphasized regardless of the setting through interactions with the Haggadah.
In the chapter named “Wine Stains”, the reader is introduced to a drunken and short-tempered priest named Giovanni Domenico Vistorini who is incharge of filtering Jewish books that do not agree with Catholic ideals. After carefully inspecting the Haggadah’s contents for anything that could offend the Catholic church, Rabbi Judah Aryeh presents the book to Vistorini in hopes that he will pass it and save
Climactically, Ozren and Dr. Werner Heinrich were involved in the scandal of stealing the prayer book and replacing it with an almost identical copy. When Hanna demands an explanation as to why Ozren followed through with it, he told her that Heinrich got into his head and convinced him that the Haggadah rightfully belonged to the Jews and therefore should be returned to Israel. Ozren explains that he came to his senses and backed out. He realized that even though the Haggadah was a Hebrew text, it was more importantly a representation of cultural diversity. The contents of the book may reflect Jewish beliefs but in the end, the history of the book reflects one of people overcoming their religious differences to save the Sarajevo Haggadah. This was the very reason the Haggadah was to be housed in Sarajevo, to symbolize religious harmony in that region. Ozren proves that his thoughts have changed for the better when he says, “It was here to test us, to see if there were people who could see that what united us was more than what divided us. That to be a human being matters more than to be a Jew or a Muslim, Catholic or