Maror is the bitter herbs. It is the green things that grow and are bitter to taste.

It is bitter to remind us of the hardships of our ancestors. The hardships that got us to where we are today. But we do not eat this alone. We dip this bitter herb in salt water, to go a step further and remind ourselves of the tears that we have shed. We then dip it again to remind us of the tears we have caused in others.

Dip parsley in salt water twice.

You may choose not to recite:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר.

Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al achilat maror.

Praised are you Elohim, who has taught us the way of holiness through commandments, commanding us to eat the bitter herb.

Hail to the green things of the Earth that may be bitter or sharp and that help to keep us healthy!

Eat the Parsley

Maror is also pungent. It can fill your existence and take hold of your senses. It is sometimes more then we can take! For this we also eat horseradish and experience the consuming nature of hardship.

Spread some horseradish onto a piece of matzo.

Hail to the reminders of our past so we can move forward into a better world!

Eat some horseradish.

The sage Hillel provided us with the tradition of constructing the Hillel sandwich, combining the bitterness of the maror with the sweetness of the charoset between the fortitude of the two pieces of matzah--the symbol of freedom. Through this ritual, we think about mortar and brick. We think of the Israelites traveling through the desert with no homes, no place to land and build up their strong communities, and only the matzah as a reminder of their freedom. It is not until they came to the biblical Promised Land that they experienced the sweetness of their redemption.

Feel free to have one now.


haggadah Section: Maror