Among the Bitter Herbs, Sweet Memories
By Lisa Segelman
The Seder plate is central to the Passover holiday table as it contains the ceremonial foods needed to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The plate is often a treasured item that is given as a gift for engagements, weddings, special occasions or by seder guests. “Do you have a seder plate?” is a common question, which really means, “do you have a nice seder plate”.
“My grandparents bought me a seder plate at the Festival Flea Market Pompano Beach, Florida, a favorite outing for us,” says Lori Zaslow of Margate. “Their note that is still on the box: ‘We hope you like the seder plate. Enjoy and invite us for a seder in the future. Love, Mom Mom and Pop Pop’. Aside from securing an invite, I know it was important to my grandparents that I kept the holiday tradition going.”
“The seder plate goes wherever the family seder goes,” says Lori’s mother, Shelley Isaacsohn of Ventnor, “That means it often shows up at my seders too. It’s extra meaningful to me because of the special relationship my daughter had with my parents.”
A seder plate can be an ornate work of art, or a humble, heart-warming preschool project made by a child.
The whole purpose of Passover is to tell the story of slavery and the Exodus from Egypt to the next generation, so ceremonial objects created by kids are usually welcomed and complimented at even the most elegant Seders.
In addition to crystal and china, felt matzo covers and corrugated cardboard seder plates made by my kids, now in their 20s, still adorn my table for an eclectic mix of the fancy and the fun.
Whatever memories your seder plate calls up, don’t forget to shop for all the items you need to fill the plate:
- Shank Bone (ask the butcher in Shoprite, but they run out so ask early, they are free. Don’t wait too long, they run out). Roast the bone with some oil and spices including paprika to give it color
Meaning: represents the Passover offering when the Temple stood in Jerusalem. Vegetarians often substitute a roasted beet.
- Bitter Herbs (choose a real horseradish root or just spoon some from the jar)
Meaning: represents the bitter taste of slavery
- Charoset (an apples, wine, nuts mixture or dates/apricots/figs/nuts wine mixture)
Meaning: represents the mortar the Jewish slaves in Egypt used to make bricks
- Roasted Egg (don’t forget to hard-boil and roast in the oven with a drop of oil and some spices)
Meaning: represents the festival sacrifice that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem. Also a symbol of mourning over the destruction of the temple.
- Karpas/Vegetable-green vegetable/parsely
Meaning: symbolizes springtime, a time of rebirth. The Exodus from Egypt marks the rebirth of the Israelites after hundreds of years of slavery. Also represents clothing of fine wool. Jacob giving Joseph the coat of many colors directly led to the Israelites going down to Egypt which eventually led to their enslavement
The karpas/parsley is dipped in salt water and eaten during the seder. The salt water represents the tears of the slaves.
- Chazert (another form of bitter herb, can be ground horseradish or romaine lettuce)
Meaning: a second source of bitterness. It’s part of the Hillel sandwich of matzo and bitter herbs eaten together
