Spring is a time of regrowth. After lying dormant for a long, bleak winter, the Earth rubs the slumber from her eyes and sprouts new life. The seder uses a fresh green vegetable to symbolize the natural world’s reawakening and the spiritual rebirth that liberation affords us. 

We dip the karpas into salt water, which symbolizes our ancestors’ tears. By mixing symbols of pain and rebirth together, the karpas ritual reminds us that oppression and liberation are intrinsically linked, that the road to freedom must pass through ha-metzer, the narrow place. Dipping karpas in salt water reminds us that our freedom is incomplete, but as Ronnie Horn explains, the salt water is also transformed by touching this symbol of rebirth. This reminds us that “tears stop. Spring comes. And with it the potential for change.”

:בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה
Baruch atah Adonai, eloheynu melech haolam, borey p’ri ha-adama.
Blessed are you, who creates the fruits of the earth.
 


haggadah Section: Karpas