Karpas (Eat a Green Vegetable)

Reader 6:  Why do we eat a green vegetable and dip it in salt water?  In the green vegetable we see the entire cosmos—the sun that gave its energy, the rain, the cloud that brought the rain, the farmer who tilled the soil, the farmer’s parents, who taught her well, the centuries of plants that left their remains as compost to allow this green vegetable to grow.  All creation is in this green vegetable.

Reader 7:  And why the salt water?  Is it the sweat of the farmer who harvested this for us?  Do we dip our green vegetable in salt water in gratitude for his or her hard work?  Is the salt water also the tears we shed for the years of bondage our ancestors endured so that we may experience the miracle of this green vegetable?  Or is the salt water the tears our ancestors themselves shed for the countless losses and hardships they experienced on their way?  Or is the salt water a reminder of the sweat demanded of us if we are to preserve this planet that pours forth such bounty?  

All:  Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam borei p’ri ha’adama.

Blessed are You, Eternal One, who creates the fruit of the earth.  


haggadah Section: Karpas