Why do we dip the karpas, this leafy green vegetable which symbolizes growth, the renewal of life that comes with liberation, into a bowl of salty water, which represents the tears we shed under oppression and slavery? We do this to reaffirm that to liberate ourselves fully, we first have to touch the depths of our suffering and bitterness and to share our tears with each Other just as we share the salt water tonight. Chinese women called this “speaking bitterness.”


haggadah Section: Karpas