The karpas is a vegetable dipped in saltwater. Usually it’s something green - a sprig of parsley, a stick of celery, a scaffolding of scallions - to represent the coming of Spring. Some families use potatoes, because in Eastern Europe - where my Bubbi’s parents were from - fresh green vegetables were hard to come by, and potatoes were everywhere ! Karpas can also translate to “fine wool or linen,” and some say the karpas represent Joseph’s amazing technicolor dreamcoat, which first led the Israelites into Egypt - the inciting incident of the Passover story, and the cause of so many sleepless nights where your brain can’t stop humming “Go go go Joseph you’ll make it someday!”

The saltwater represents the tears that the Jews wept as slaves in Egypt. It’s a reminder that we cannot welcome spring without first remembering our ancestors’ suffering - and that from our suffering comes the promise of spring. So if the karpas = spring awakening, the saltwater = the bitch of living. Or, to quote the Jewish poet Carol King (originally Brooklyn’s own Carol Klein), “You’ve got to take the bitter with the sweet.” That’s what I took from my Bubbi’s Zoom memorial - destruction and reconstruction, music and mayhem.

There is also the question of why we dip the karpas in the saltwater twice ? Is it to clarify that we cried a lot of tears in Egypt? Is it because Jews are famous for double dipping? Or because we like our food extra salty? My favorite answer to the question is this: It’s simply meant to inspire more questions. To quote my friend Martine, “Maybe the why of the karpas is just that it’s weird. Something we’re not used to that’s going to prompt the kids to be like ‘hey why are you putting that leaf in salt water’ and then you can be like ‘glad you asked here is our national epic,’ you know?” As was true at the memorial, the weirdest questions always lead to the best stories.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruits of the earth.


haggadah Section: Karpas
Source: Tirosh Schneider