The typical Seder plate has been reinterpreted over and over, with additions that add symbolism relevant for a modern Seder. This year, nothing is typical. Because attaining all of the food for a Seder is more of a challenge, our Meal of Moshiach will be focused less on the food and more on the ritual of being together and ruminating on ideas of collective justice and liberation — with lots of laughter too. This is a note of what is included in a Seder plate, with added items focused on social justice inspired by the Mixed Multitudes Haggadah. 

זרוע  – Z’roa: a shankbone or beet (for us veggies out there!) which represents the mighty hand and outstretched arm that liberated us from Mitzrayim. Also symbolic of our strength as a people. 

מרור   - Maror: horseradish, which represents the bitterness of slavery in Mitzrayim.

חרוסת    – Charoset: a mixture of dried fruits and nuts, which represents the mortar used to lay bricks and the work done while enslaved in Mitzrayim.

ביצה     – Beitzah: an egg, which represents life, wholeness, and liberation.

כרפס     – Karpas: parsley, which represents growth, change, and life.

 ימ המלח    – Yam hamalach: salt water, which represents our tears while enslaved, and our tenacity and chutzpah in fighting for liberation.

קפה     – Kafe: coffee beans, which represent the bitterness of modern slavery, through forced migrant labor, bonded labor, slavery, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and child labor.

תפוז     – Tapuz: an orange, which represents gender and sexual equality and justice, especially for queers, trans and gender-variant people, and women.

זית    – Zayit: an olive, which represents solidarity with Palestinians and Palestine and the struggle for justice and peace in Israel and Palestine.

**Rabbi Elliot Kukla offered that this year we put a spoon on our Seder plate: "a spoon placed tenderly on the Seder plate holds multiple meanings: It represents sick and disabled people, as well as elders, but it also represents the need for everyone to tend to their energy in this time of shelter.

As we tell our own liberation story, remember that so many of us are still in exile, or are experiencing forms of oppression and marginalization. Let us strive to translate its core idea into reality. Let our celebration of freedom encourage us to double and re-double our efforts to ease the lot of those who have yet to taste true freedom.


 


haggadah Section: Introduction