Karpas | Passover haggadah by Sophia + Jacob

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What does karpas even mean? Nobody knows for sure. But it refers to the vegetable we eat as a kind of appetizer to our meal. The most common vegetables used are parsley or celery although some use other veggies, such as potatoes, or even raw onions.

The vegetable symbolizes the coming of spring, which brings new life and new hope, and was the season of the Passover liberation. We generally use a non-bitter vegetable for karpas, to distinguish it from the bitter herbs we will use later. Some Sephardim will dip their vegetables in vinegar, while it’s Ashkenazi tradition to dip in salt water, symbolizing the tears our ancestors shed in slavery. In this way, positive symbols are being commingled with negative ones, much like in a Jewish wedding, where a glass is broken to remember the destruction of the Temple even during the happiest of occasions.

Some have explained the dipping of the karpas to symbolize Joseph’s tunic being dipped into blood by his brothers, as they covered up their crime of selling him into slavery in Egypt. The dipping of the karpas is therefore done at the beginning of the Seder, just as Joseph’s tunic being dipped in blood began the long process of the descent of our ancestors into Egypt.

We dip twice in our seder. The two dippings are opposites. The first time, as we prepare to enter a world of slavery, we dip a green vegetable into saltwater, marring its life-giving freshness with the taste of tears and death. The second time, as we move towards redemption, we moderate the bitterness of maror with the sweetness of charoset. Any time we find ourselves immersed in sadness and suffering, may we always have the courage to know that blessing is coming.

The dipping of karpas also recalls the Israelites’ first stop after crossing the Red Sea, which was called Marah. After a three-day journey, they found water there, but it was bitter, undrinkable. God showed Moses a piece of wood to throw (dip) into the water, which made it potable. (Exodus 15:22-27) Even after a major initial victory, our elation can collapse swiftly under the weight of the next steps we have to take. Karpas reminds us that the journey to freedom — like the seder — is long, and we have to pace ourselves. Karpas reminds us that on the long road to redemption, we have to make sure we stop and nourish ourselves wherever we can.

Break off a branch of parsley and dip it into the salt water twice. Say a blessing while leaning into discomfort, perhaps into the edge of your chair. If something doesn’t sit right with you tonight, if you feel uncomfortable at any moment, if you want to object—that is when to think more, engage in conversation, and seek to stretch. Note those moments, and continue to explore them at this Seder. Together, we say the following blessing,

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה
Ba-ruch a-tah A-do-nai, E-lo-hey-nu Me-lech ha-o-lam, Bo-rey pe-ri ha-a-da-mah.
Praised are you, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.

haggadah Section: Karpas

Source: T'ruah/JUF Chicago/Ikar Seder Guide