The Seder Plate

Next Participant: Year after year, the Seder has thrilled us with an appreciation of the glories of the past, helped us to endure the severest persecutions, and created within us an enthusiasm for the high ideals of freedom. The moral and spiritual worth of the seder is priceless. We would suffer a horrible loss if the Seder were allowed to pass into neglect. Averting this danger is the reason we are gathered here tonight. 

Next Participant: We have before us a Seder plate, on it are the main symbols of this service. 

First, we have the Matzah, the unleavened bread. Matzah is the symbol of our affliction and our freedom. Legend has it that when Moses and his followers fled Egypt, they moved so quickly that the bread they baked did not have time to rise.

Next participant- Second we have the Haroset, the mortar. It is the color of clay. It reminds us of the bricks and mortar that the Israelites are said to have made when they built the Pharaohs' palaces and cities. At the same time, the taste of haroset is sweet, and it reminds us of the sweetness of freedom.

Next we have the Maror, the bitter herb. Tradition says that this root is to remind us of the time of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste bitterness so that we can better appreciate the joys of life and the freedom we now enjoy. 
 
Next participant: Then we have the Roasted Shank Bone which is symbolic gesture of ancient times and the shepherd's festival of Pesach. It was celebrated at the time of the full moon in the month the lambs and goats were born. At that time, each family would slaughter a young lamb or goat for a spring feast. Now we no longer sacrifice animals and place the bone on a plate as a reminder of history.

Next Participant: The fifth symbol is a Roasted Egg, which reminds us of a second offering brought to the Temple on Passover. It was known as the "Festival Offering", for it was brought on each of the three festivals, Peasach, Shavout, and Sukkot. Eggs also represent the potential of a new life and also reminds us of it's fragility and dependence on support from our families and communities in order to thrive and reach their highest potential.


haggadah Section: Kadesh