Each year on Passover, Jews around the world sit down to the Passover seder to remember the difficult years their ancestors spent as slaves in Egypt, and their miraculous deliverance. The unleavened bread, called matzah, is a reminder of the Israelites' haste as they fled Egypt. Six foods are placed on the plate, each of which is symbolic, reminding us of the bitterness of bondage of our ancestors. The reason we eat it is the Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise. When setting the table for the Passover seder, we prepare a special seder plate, which sits in the center of the table. The choice of a particular food to hold meaning may have different origins as well. Pharaoh and his troops were closing in. Symbolic Foods The holiday's main themes are spring, Jewish history, freedom, social justice, family, and the Jewish homeland. The Seder plate is the focal point during the first two evenings of Passover. Exodus 1:14. Here the seven foods of Passover. Rich symbolism can be found in this ancient Jewish celebration. Their society valued people as means, not ends. One powerful experience drove home this truth for me. Pharaoh and his troops were closing in. But if the household is too small for a lamb, let him share one with a neighbor who dwells nearby, in proportion to the number of persons: you shall contribute for the lamb according to what each household will eat. After kiddush, and the drinking of the first cup of wine, we wash our hands, and the blessing is recited on the karpas (celery), which is dipped in either salt water (according to Ashkenazic. Leaven was a symbol of sin (1 Corinthians 5:8); so unleavened bread, bread without yeast, was symbolic of a sinless life. Charoses, a mixture of apples, wine, and nuts, represents the clay in which the Israelites had to use to build the great structures of Egypt. TheEgyptians valued bricks so much that they were willing to enslave others to produce them. Each item represents something and has symbolic meaning. The karpas represents hope and redemption. The Egg: The egg symbolizes memory and renewal. While each family adapts their seder to particular traditions handed down from generation to generation, the Passover story and associated foods remind us of Hashems hand in our lives, past, present, and future. It also reminds us of the continuity of life, for an egg has neither a beginning or an end, within it is the seed of a new life. At the seder, we read the story, eat certain foods, and pass on the story to our children and grandchildren. It involves real pain. Each of the foods has a profound meaning. Roasted lamb shankbone: One of the most striking symbols of Passover is the roasted lamb shankbone (called zeroah ), which commemorates the paschal (lamb) sacrifice made the night the ancient Hebrews fled Egypt. The men wore suits and most of the women wore dresses. Eatingthe bitter herbs is one of the ways we do so. As much as the content keeps them coming, the food does as well. Eatingthe Matzah reminds us of that experience of fear. During the course of the Seder, participants drink four cups of wine, called the arba kosotin Hebrew. The Seder plate. With an eye to the End of Days,The Israel Bible comments on this fifth expression of redemption, providing us with a satisfying way to conclude the Guide to Biblical Symbolism Of Passover Foods: Why, then, do we not have five cups of wine at the Seder? It was an equally powerful evening, reminding me that slavery is not always physical. The Israelite slaveused the mortar to makebricks. Karpas is dipped in salty water, said to represent the tears of the Israelite slaves due to the bitterness of their enslavement. The egg reminds us of the free-will offering which was brought to the temple in Jerusalem. Bitter Herb Often horseradish. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field. The Seder meals include four cups of wine, eating matzah and bitter herbs, and retelling the story of the Exodus. When preparing the Passover seder, it is important to understand the importance and symbolism of each of the traditional foods. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The retelling of that story concludes with a wonderful feast. The roasted shank bone symbolizes the sacrifice that G-d commanded the Jews to offer. The Foods on the Seder Plate Roasted eggServes as a symbol of burnt offerings that can no longer be made in the temple. I show the way Jewish wisdom make our lives richer and happier. Passover is a Jewish map for how we understand God's involvement in our lives,. is the worlds first Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) centered around the Land of Israel, the People of Israel, and the dynamic relationship between them. Exodus 1:11-14. Passover is celebrated to recall Jewish redemption from slavery in Egypt and exodus after 400 years. Do Jews Believe in Resurrection of the Dead? However, these feasts also pointed toward things to come in the future. The three Matzahs, also known as the bread of affliction, illustrates the story of the Exodus in which the Jews, eager to escape Egypt, did not properly prepare their dough, which led to the creation of flat, hard cakes. The purpose of the Passover Seder plate is to show all the foods that perpetuate and emphasize the ideas of the people of Israel, and are designed to express the uniqueness of the Seder. The house is cleaned from top to bottom and anything containing leaven is removed. This symbolizes our hope that all the bitterness of exile will be eliminated, and the Holy Temple will be rebuilt. The Israelites placed the blood of that lamb on their doorposts so God wouldpass over the Israelite homes. My confirmation class has excellent attendance. Other symbolic foods that appear in the traditional Passover Seder include a lamb shank bone that represent the Paschal sacrifice and the lamb's blood placed on doorposts to ward off the Angel of Death; and the sweet mixture of apples and walnuts with wine that symbolizes the mortar used in constructing the Pyramids. Israelites were commanded to eat the paschal lamb meat with bread that didn't have time to rise. There are six traditional foods that appear on the plate. The word seder itself means order, and we call the seder by this name because we must do things in a certain sequence. We replaced it with prayer, the offerings of our hearts. Shank boneThis symbolizes the lamb that was sacrificed to free the Israelite people. Passover centers around the food. In particular, I help Jews appreciate their heritage and Christians uncover the Jewish roots of their faith. It reminds us of the many who have lost throughout history because of wicked tyrants and oppressors. During the Seder, which means "order" in Hebrew, the experience of the Exodus is told in story, song, prayer, and the tasting of symbolic foods. Exodus 6:6-7, The verse immediately following these four expressions includes a fifth expression of redemption: I will bring you into the land., I willbringyou into the land which I swore to give toAvraham,Yitzchak, andYaakov, and I will give it to you for a possession, IHashem.Exodus 6:8. The plate can be a fancy silver platter, or a simple childs plate made in school. Perfect Lamb The Passover lamb was to be an animal without blemish or deformity. The Passover ritual reminds of the journey from slavery to freedom. Meaning of Passover Karpas, which can also be replaced with green vegetables such as parsley or lettuce, serves to remind of the presence of spring. It is lightly roasted to remind participants of the Passover sacrifice, as described in Exodus 12:3-11: Speak to the whole community ofYisrael and say that on the tenth of this month each of them shall take a lamb to a family, a lamb to a household. custom) or vinegar water (Sephardic custom) to remind us of the bitter tears of bondage. When the Temple in Jerusalem was constructed, the Passover holiday was accompanied bythe offering a lamb. The cinnamon in charoset is symbolic of the straw Hebrews had to gather in Egypt to build Pharaoh's palaces (when considering the cinnamon in its stick form). Perhaps the most dramatic of the symbols is thezeroa(shank bone) which represents theKorban Pesach(Passover sacrifice) itself. Passover is a holiday that commemorates the bitter struggle of the Jewish people and, ultimately, their liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt. The context of the Seder table consists of symbolic food including Matzoth, a roasted shank bone, an egg, bitter herbs, Charoses, parsley, and a cup of wine. It is unfermented grains. The horseradish was made from a plant started by Ken's father more than 30 years ago. If we are not vigilant, we can lose it. Which Book of the Bible Should You Start With? The next evening I led a Passover seder at a recovery center. Such a society lacks all human dignity and decency. Passover is celebrated by Jews all over the world, and there are many different ways to observe the holiday. As a symbol of our grief over not being able to bring this festival sacrifice because we have no Holy Temple, we place a roasted, hard-boiledeggon the Seder plate. Do not eat any of it raw, or cooked in any way with water, but roastedhead, legs, and entrailsover the fire Exodus 12:3-11. Exodus 12:39 Jewish family eating Matzah at the Passover Seder Shank Bone Perhaps the most dramatic of the symbols is the zeroa (shank bone) which represents the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice) itself. Get my FREE Jewish holidays cheat sheet by clicking here. At a Passover seder, the following traditional items are on the table: Karpas: Karpas is a green vegetable, usually parsley (though any spring green will do). If a man falls down to his death, people dont care. During Passover foods may not be prepared with any flour, grains, grain products or leavening agents. Matzo Unleavened bread, like a thin cracker. The matzah we eat today represents the bread that the Israelite slaves took with them during the Exodus from Egypt. . These foods include bitter herbs, sweet apples, and matzah -- all of which are symbolic of the imprisonment of Jews. Saltwater: Slavery is not just an abstract idea. But when a brick falls, everyone cries out because of how much work it would take to produce another. Some of the folks came in from local homeless shelters. The saltwater represents all of the tears that were shed while the Jews were enslaved. Memory makes the past present. Some households add a fourth piece of Matzah to provide hope for the Jews who are or were in danger. Passover centers around the food. 5:6-8), must be removed from the Jewish home. Next comes the korekh, a sandwich of matzah, bitter herbs (romaine), and haroset. Passover (AKA Pesach) is the springtime holiday observed by Jewish people everywhere on the date when Gd took the Jewish people out of Egypt. The Seder plate holding the symbols of Passover. It is the custom of Aleppan Jews to eat the shank bone from the seder plate, before eating the egg. Sederis the Hebrew word for order, alluding to the idea that God runs the world in an orderly manner. Passover marks the rebirth of the Jewish people. Hebrew Scriptures:The maror("bitter herbs") are another one of the three items to be eaten at the Passover meal as commanded in Exodus 12:8. Six foods are placed on the plate, each of which is symbolic, reminding us of the bitterness of bondage of our ancestors. Then, the evening before the Passover, the father of the house takes the traditional cleaning implements: a . We remember the life ofthe temple that was lost.But the egg alsosymbolizes renewal. The three Matzahs represent the three patriarchs Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac. The seder plate is topped with three matzot and covered. In addition to the Passover sacrifice described above, during the time the Temple stood inJerusalem, there was also a festival sacrifice, called the Korban Chagigah, that was offered on the Temple altar, roasted and eaten as part of the meal. It lasts for eight days (seven days in Israel ), during which no bread, or anything that contains grain that has fermented, is to be consumed or even owned. Rabbinic Tradition:The maror represents the bitterness of Egyptian slavery. (The orange and mushroom are not customarily part of the Seder plate, but part of the family tradition.) The lamb was symbolic of Jesus Christ who died for all of us so that we could have our sins taken away (1 Corinthians 5:7). Charoset is a sweet dish, generally made with apples (and sometimes dates), nuts and wine. Each of the foods has a profound meaning. The bitter herbs, also known as Morror represents the bitterness of the life of the Jews under the rule of Pharaoh. It was powerful and reminded me of the blessings of living and succeeding in America. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Shir Hashirim, which we read during Passover, sings praise to the fruits of Israel that are in season in Spring, so we eat charoset in the spirit of the season, and in thanks to God. And I willtakeyou to be My people, and I will be your God. ALSO READ: 30 Jerusalem Food to Try. All Rights Reserved. Each of the six items on the Seder plate have a specific meaning in regards to the story of Passover. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a yearling male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. It symbolizes spring, the season during which the Bible declares that Passover must be celebrated each year. The same is true when it comes to the holiday of Passover. Exodus 12:8, Shank bone on the Passover seder plate (Shutterstock.com). It often has a paste-like texture, symbolizing the mortar used by the Israelite slaves in their work building the cities of Pithom and Raamses for Pharaoh. It is served with a bowl of salted water (Ashkenazi custom) or vinegar (Sephardi custom) to represent the tears shed by the Israelites. Syrians customarily serve lamb shanks as an entre, with rice. Tasting that bitterness ignites our sense of justice. In crossing the Red Sea, they transformedthemselves from a nation of slaves into a free people. That order reflects priority, as indicated by Rabbi Avraham Dayan, ah, of Aleppo. It can be made from any number of dried fruits. Most Ashkenazi (East European) Jews don't eat corn, beans or lentils either. Freedom is precious. According to the Old Testament Book of Exodus,. These four expressions are highlighted in the following verses: Say, therefore, toBnei Yisrael: I am Hashem. The word karpas contains the word kaper (atone) and the letter samekh (60), referring to the atonement for the sins of the 60 ten-thousand (or 600,000) Jews who left Egypt. Though the festival of Passover is meant to be one of great rejoicing, strict dietary laws must be observed, and special prohibitions restrict work at the beginning and end of the celebration. The name Passover signifies literally that G-d passed over the houses of the Israelites causing them no harm during the ten plagues. I willredeemyou with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. 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