Page 52 - cRc Pesach Guide 2021

SEDER PLATE

NOTE: If someone prepares any of the seder items on the first night of Yom Tov, it must be intended to be eaten on the first day of Yom Tov.
If one intends to use the same egg or bone on both nights, it must be prepared before Yom Tov.
If the maror or charoses wasn’t prepared before Yom Tov, it should be chopped or ground with a shinui (different method), so as to avoid
the melacha of grinding.
Romaine lettuce and many other vegetables must be checked for insects prior to the onset of the holiday. The process to do this may be
found on our website and on pages 104-111 of this guide.

Beitza, the egg, hard-boiled and lightly Zro’a, roasted piece of meat, chicken, Charoses (usually made of grated apple,
roasted, commemorates the korban lamb, turkey, duck or bone thereof, ground walnuts, cinnamon, red wine
chagigah (festival sacrifice). An egg commemorates the korban Pesach and dates) symbolizes the mortar used
represents the circle of life and is (Pesach sacrifice), which, unfortunately, to make the bricks of the cities we were
used because it’s the traditional food we cannot bring nowadays. The zro’a forced to build for Pharoah. Charoses
for mourners in Jewish custom. It may not be eaten on the seder night, at the seder may only be eaten during
reminds us of the destruction of the because we do not eat any roasted meat the meal; during Maror and Koraich, the
Bais HaMikdash (Holy Temple) and our or fowl on the seder night. vegetable should be dipped into the
inability to bring this sacrifice. charoses and shaken off.
DID YOU KNOW that unlike many
DID YOU KNOW that the first day of depictions of the zroa’a on the seder DID YOU KNOW that the texture of the
Pesach falls on the same day of the plate, there must be some meat left on charoses should be more like a compote/
week as Tisha B’Av? the bone? apple sauce – not large chunks?

Karpas (celery, boiled potato, parsley
etc.) is a vegetable, which is dipped
into salt water. The vegetable reminds
us of the spring season, and the salt
water reminds us of the bitter tears we
cried while enslaved in Egypt. The word
karpas is composed of an anagram for
the Hebrew word “parech”, hard work, Chazeres (Romaine lettuce), which, as a Maror (the bitter herb – ground
and the Hebrew letter samech, which type of maror, reminds us of the bitter horseradish root) represents the
has a numerical value (gematria) of 60, slavery. While many people use the bitter slavery we endured in Egypt.
representing the 600,000 Jews who left traditional Romaine lettuce as chazeres, The horseradish is grated or ground
Egypt. others use whole horseradish root. and should not be mixed with other
ingredients; prepared jarred horseradish
DID YOU KNOW that the (salt) water DID YOU KNOW that Romaine lettuce
also represents the mikvah (in this is used to remind us how the Egyptian should not be used.
case the Nile River) in which the Jews slavery began in an easy way and then DID YOU KNOW that we have two bitter
immersed themselves in order to eat became harder, just as Romaine is sweet herbs on the table, because we eat
the matzah and korban Pesach? when it’s young and bitter when it’s older? maror twice at the seder?

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