The tried and tested classics have triumphed over modern versions in the battle to be the most popular haggadah this Pesach, according to the results of a JC straw poll.

The publication of a Harry Potter-themed haggadah has provoked debate ahead of Seder night, but Jewish booksellers across the country reported that traditional texts were still selling well.

Emeritus Chief Rabbi Sacks’s commentary on the Koren haggadah is the best-selling edition at Jerusalem the Golden in Golders Green, according to sales assistant Yechiel Wilhelm.

He said: “That’s always the popular one. It was re-printed three years ago and it’s still current.

“Usually we would sell 50 to 100 copies a year. But the year the re-print came out we sold close to 500. Most people walk into the shop, and after looking around for a bit they go straight for that one. It’s very popular.”

At Aisenthal Judaica, in Temple Fortune, the Silberman’s Children’s Haggadah remains the most popular, with the newly-released Unofficial Hogwarts Haggadah, by Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, a close second.

The store’s Zalmi Sonnenfeld said: “You have a lot of interest in the Harry Potter one. Anything with that name on it is always bound to do well.”

In Manchester, families were sticking with the Children’s Haggadah at Judaica World in Prestwich thanks largely to its nostalgic appeal.

Micky Horowitz said: “It’s the best seller; we probably do 50 to 100 copies every year. People buy it because they had it when they were kids.”

He said the store was not selling the Harry Potter-themed version of the exodus story, which also received a cool reception at Manor House Books at the Sternberg Centre in Finchley.  

Our Haggadah, by rabbis Paul Freedman and Yuval Keren, is a best-seller at the centre, alongside A Night to Remember, by Mishael Zion and Noam Zion. Phonetic editions have also performed well this year.

Micky Wulick, of Torah Treasures in Golders Green, said Shoshana Silberman’s Family Haggadah was one of its most popular editions.

He said: “We sell many different ones, but the best one is the Family Haggadah. It’s just £2.40 and it’s one of the children’s ones, with illustrations. People sometimes come in and buy 10 or 20 at a time.”

For Joseph’s Bookstore, in Temple Fortune, A Different Night: the Family Participation Haggadah sells well every year, according to owner Michael Joseph, as does the newly-released Brother Haggadah, priced at £80.

Mr Joseph said a list of 10 “antiquarian or ephemeral” haggadot have proved very popular, including an Israeli Army edition, the Maxwell House, which has been printed since 1932, and a Judeo-Arabic translated edition which dates to 1952.