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Karpas By: Eva Yaghoubian
Contributed by Yeshiva Har Torah

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

Passover is an eight-day holiday. Four days are used to remember the events that took place in Egypt. The first two days are used for remembering our liberation, and the last two days are used for the good future that will come.  During Passover we have a seder. During the seder we eat כרפס. Ashkenazim use potato or parsley, and Sefardim use celery or parsley. There are also other customs such as using raw onion. The Karpas is either dipped in salt water or vinegar.

During most of the Jewish holidays, it is expected to have a big feast. When we have our seder, we must dip greens into salty water. We do not eat until late into the evening. This forces us to question, why are we doing this? The seder table is meant to make us ask questions. Why is this night different from any other night?  The Haggadah is meant to incite questions on how the Jews ended up in Egypt, and how they left. This brings us to understand G-d’s miracles. We were stranded in Egypt and after a menagerie of miracles, we were freed. It makes us realize everything is in G-d’s hands. 

Karpas, i.e. greens, are a symbol of spring.  In spring we see all the new growth. The grass grows, the flowers bloom, and the trees start sprouting their fruit. Everything that was dormant in the winter becomes alive again. The Jews in their time of enslavement were dormant. The exodus gave new life to the Jews. This is what karpas symbolizes.  

The salty water symbolizes the tears that were shed by the Jews during the time of enslavement.  The Jews had great hardships during this time.  

The act of dipping the greens in the salty water reminds us that even though we were given a chance for a new start, we suffer through great pain.  It is through G-d’s help we were able to be freed.  Historically, this has been proven over and over.  During the inquisition, thousands of Jews in Spain were expelled, murdered, or forced to convert to Christianity. Those that survived were through G-d’s help.  In the Holocaust, millions of Jews were killed or tortured. Again, those that survived were through miracles of G-d.  

So the question of why do we do this at the seder is easily answered.  Life is G-d’s miracle.  However, we must be reminded that along with this miracle there may also be suffering.  Our emunah in Hashem is what can allow us to live. 

Another interesting note is that  Persians normally use celery for this ritual.  The reason for this is because in Farsi, the word for celery is “ karafs.” This is very close to the word “karpas." 

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https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-great-mystery-why-karpas

Remembering the Future - Passover - Chabad.org

Why Karpas? | Tzvi Silver | The Blogs
haggadah Section: Karpas

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