What's on a Seder Plate and Why?
In this column, various Bay Area experts will respond to your questions about family life and relationships between people of different faiths. If you have a question for our experts, please email us at bridges@sfjcf.org.
Pesach, known as Passover in English, is a major Jewish spring festival, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The ritual observance of this holiday centers around a special home service called the seder (meaning "order") and a festive meal; the prohibition of chametz (leaven); and the eating of matzah (an unleavened bread). On the eve of the fifteenth day of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar (which falls on Saturday, April 19 this year), we read from a book called the hagaddah, meaning "telling," which contains the order of prayers, rituals, readings and songs for the Pesach seder. The Pesach seder is the only ritual meal in the Jewish calendar year for which such an order is prescribed, hence its name.
The seder plate contains various symbolic foods referred to in the seder itself. They are eaten in combination, alone, or sometimes just alluded to. Following are descriptions of these symbolic foods and the reasons for their inclusion in the seder.
Maror – Bitter Herbs
Bitter Herbs (usually horseradish) symbolize the bitterness of Egyptian slavery. The maror is often dipped in charoset to reduce its sharpness. Maror is used in the seder because of the commandment (in Numbers 9:11) to eat the Paschal lamb "with unleavened bread and bitter herbs." Some prefer mild horseradish at the seder; others say that it doesn't serve its purpose to remind us of the bitterness of slavery unless it's hot enough to bring tears to the eyes. Horseradish is usually kept in the refrigerated foods section of the grocery store. If fresh horseradish root is available, it will be in the produce section.
Zeroa – the shankbone
The shankbone is symbolic of the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in biblical times. In some communities, it is common to use a chicken neck in place of the shankbone. Vegetarian households often use beets for the shankbone on the seder plate. The red beets symbolize the blood of the Paschal lamb, which was used to mark the lintel and doorposts of the houses during the first Passover (Exodus 12:22). Most kosher butchers make shankbones available before Passover.
Charoset
Apple, nuts, and spices ground together and mixed with wine are symbolic of the mortar used by Hebrew slaves to build Egyptian structures. The charoset is sweet because sweetness is symbolic of God's kindness, which was able to make even slavery more bearable. According to legend, the use of apples in charoset stems from Pharaoh's decree that all male Hebrew children were to be killed at birth. Mothers would go out to the orchards to give birth, and thus save their babies (at least temporarily) from the Egyptian soldiers.
Chazeret – Bitter Vegetable
 Bitter Vegetable (often lettuce) may be used in addition to the maror as a bitter herb. The authorities are divided on the requirement of chazeret, so not all communities use it. Since the commandment (in Numbers 9:11) to eat the paschal lamb "with unleavened bread and bitter herbs" uses the plural ("bitter herbs") most seder plates have a place for chazeret. Some use a green vegetable (such as lettuce - as long as lettuce is not also used for karpas), some use the green top of a bitter herb, while some use a second bitter (such as radish) for the chazeret. Avoid sweet lettuce if possible.
Karpas & Salt Water
 A vegetable (usually parsley) is dipped into salt water during the seder. The salt water represents the tears shed during Egyptian slavery. The dipping of a vegetable as an appetizer is said to date back to biblical times. It may now be identified with biblical description of the Hebrew slaves marking their doorposts at the time of the first Passover. A bunch of hyssop was to be dipped in the blood of the paschal lamb and used to strike the lintel and the doorposts (Exodus 12:22) so that the tenth plague (death of the firstborn) would not be visited upon their households.
Beitzah – Roasted Egg
 The roasted egg is symbolic of the festival sacrifice made in biblical times. On Passover, an additional sacrifice (the Paschal lamb) was offered as well. The egg is also a traditional symbol of mourning, and has been interpreted by some as a symbolic mourning for the loss of the Temple. Since the destruction of the Temple in the year 70 C.E., neither the festival sacrifice nor the special Passover sacrifice could be offered. It is also a symbol of spring - the season in which Passover is always celebrated. In many households, it is customary to use a brown egg on the seder plate. The egg should be baked or roasted if possible.
Matzah – Unleavened Bread
Matzah is the unleavened bread eaten in recollection of the hurried departure from Egypt. Though not on the seder plate, three matzahs, wrapped together, are part of the seder ceremony. The eating of matzah is obligatory only at the seder. During the rest of Pesach, one may abstain from matzah as long as all chametz is avoided. Matzah is available in most Bay Area grocery stores, often in special Passover sections.
The material for Ask the Experts was excerpted from the website of The Union for Reform Judaism, www.urj.org. URJ provides vision and leadership to Reform Jews and congregations on spiritual, ethical, social justice and management issues and provides programmatic support to Reform Jewish congregations.
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