ThePassover Seder plate (Hebrew:קערה,ke'ara) is a specialplate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at thePassover Seder. It is used to show all the symbolic foods that are used for the Passover Seder.[1]
Each of the six items arranged on the plate has special significance to the retelling of the story ofPassover—the exodus fromEgypt—which is the focus of this ritual meal. A seventh symbolic item used during the meal—the threematzos—is not considered part of the seder plate proper.
Maror andChazeret[2] – Bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery that the Hebrews endured inEgypt. In Ashkenazi tradition, fresh romaine lettuce or endives (both representing the bitterness of the Roman invasions) or chazeret (horseradish) may be eaten asMaror in the fulfillment of themitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.Chazeret are additional bitter herbs, usually romaine lettuce, that are used in thekorech sandwich.[1]
Charoset – A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar and brick used by the Hebrew slaves to build the structures ofEgypt. InAshkenaziJewish homes, Charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples,cinnamon, and sweet red wine.[1]
Karpas – A vegetable parsley or other non-bitter herbs representing hope and renewal, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder.[3] Some substitute parsley with a slice of green onion (representing the bitterness of slavery in Egypt) or potato (representing the bitterness of the ghetto in Germany and in other European countries), both commonly used. Participants dip a simple vegetable into salt water. Water then drips off the vegetables visually representing tears and is a symbolic reminder of the pain felt by the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. Usually, in aShabbat orholiday meal, the first thing to be eaten after thekiddush over wine is bread. At the Seder table, however, the first thing to be eaten after the kiddush is a vegetable. This leads immediately to the recital of the famous question,Ma Nishtana—"Why is this night different from all other nights?" It also symbolizes the springtime, because Jews celebrate Passover in the spring.[3]
Zeroa – Also transliteratedZ'roa, this is typically a roasted lamb shank bone or chicken wing. It is special as it is the only element of meat on the Seder Plate, symbolizing the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice), or Pascal Lamb. It symbolizes the sacrifice of a lamb whose blood was painted on the doorway of Israelite slaves' houses so that theangel of death would pass over that house during the tenth plague.[4]
Beitza – A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing thekorban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered at theTemple in Jerusalem, is then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and thechagigah were meat offerings, thechagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and the inability to offer the biblically mandated sacrifices for the Pesach holiday. The use of an egg in the seder is first attested in the 16th-centuryShulchan Aruch commentary of RabbiMoses Isserles, and it is not known when the custom began.[5] It is not used during the formal part of the seder. Some people eat a regular hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water or vinegar as part of the first course of the meal, or as an appetizer. The egg also represents the circle of life: birth, reproduction, and death.[5]
Sterling silver seder plate
Many decorative and artistic Seder plates sold inJudaica stores have pre-formed spaces for inserting the various symbolic foods.
Table set for the seder with a seder plate, salt water, matza, kosher wine and a copy of theHaggadah for each guest
The sixth symbolic item on the Seder table is a plate of three wholematzot, which are stacked and separated from each other by cloths or napkins. The middle matzah will be broken and half of it put aside for theafikoman. The top and another half of the middle matzot will be used for thehamotzi (blessing over bread), and the bottom matzah will be used for thekorech (Hillel sandwich).
According to one common interpretation, the three matzot represent "Kohen, Levi and Yisrael" (i.e., the priests, the tribe of Levi, and all other Jewish people).[6]
A bowl of salt water, which is used for the first "dipping" of the Seder, is not traditionally part of the Seder Plate but is sometimes placed beside the plate or used as one of the six items, omitting chazeret. The salt water represents the tears of the Israelites when they were enslaved.
Vinegar – German and Persian Jews traditionally include vinegar on the seder plate, closest to the leader next to thekarpas. Thekarpas was dipped in the vinegar rather than in salt water during the seder.[7]
Orange – Some Jews include an orange on the Seder plate.[8] The orange represents the fruitfulness for all Jews when marginalized Jews, particularly women and gay people, are allowed to become active and contribute to the Jewish community. WhenSusannah Heschel spoke atHillel atOberlin College, where she saw an early feministhaggadah that included Susan Fielding's short story about a young Jewish lesbian told by her Hasidicrebbe that "there is as much place for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for hametz at the seder table."[9] Heschel felt, as did those women at Oberlin, that putting bread on the Seder plate would mean accepting the idea that lesbian and gay Jews are as incompatible with Judaism aschametz is withPassover. At her next Seder, she used an orange as a symbol of inclusion for lesbians, gays, and others who are marginalized by the Jewish community. Participants eat a segment of the orange, spitting out the seeds as a symbol of rejecting homophobia.[10]
Olive – An olive to express solidarity with Palestinians has been added to some seder plates. This ritual was created by Elliott batTzedek in Philadelphia in 2002,[11] The ritual gave to rise to a play, "An Olive on the Seder Plate," directed by Deb Shoval, that began touring to progressive synagogues and college campuses in 2008.[12] Also in 2008, aJewish Voice for Peace haggadah supplement further publicised this with a call to add an olive to symbolise olive trees that have been uprooted inPalestine.[13] Adding an olive as a call for peace between Israel and Palestine[14] is a well acknowledged[15][16][17][18][19] addition for some Jews.[20][21]
Lemon – Jewish communities have started including lemons on their Passover seder plates. The color yellow has become a symbol to bring the hostages home and the sourness of the lemon represents the pain and grief their friends and families endure every day. This addition is often inspired by the work ofRachel Goldberg Pollin, mother ofHersh Goldberg Polin, a hostage who was executed by Hamas after being taken hostage at theNova Music festival.[22] Rabbi Gersh Lazarow of Melbourne, Australia stated that “This lemon, in addition to the Maror and Chazeret, is more than a symbol; it is a call to awareness and action. It urges us to weave their struggle into our ancient story of liberation. As its bite sharpens our resolve, may it kindle an unrelenting desire to see them safely returned.”[23][24]
Watermelon – In addition to the olive, after the massacres of October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza, some have suggested incorporating a slice of watermelon on the Seder plate as a show of solidarity for the people of Palestine.[25][26] The slice of watermelon has been intermittenly used a symbol for Palestine as the red, white, black and green colors of the fruit could be seen as a representation of theflag of Palestine, the display of which in some contexts has been repressed.[27]
^Thus explained in RabbiHai Gaon's Commentary on MishnahUktzin 1:2 [3];Sefer Arukh, s.v. חזרת; Mishnah Commentary ofRabbi Nathan, President of the Academy, s.v. MishnahKila'im 1:2; Zohar Amar,Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teachings, Kefar Darom 2015, p. 77OCLC783455868[Hebrew].
^abA Passover Haggadah: As Commented Upon by Elie Wiesel and Illustrated by Mark Podwal (Simon & Schuster, 1993,ISBN0671799967)
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