Here is a list of what appears on the seder plate and an example of meaning that can be assigned to each:
Karpas – A green, spring vegetable (parsley) symbolizing spring’s bounty.
Beitzah – An egg symbolizing the cycle of life, rebirth, and springtime.
Z’roah – A beet symbolizing the sacrifices offered in the Passover story to ward off the angel of death.
Maror - Bitter herbs (horseradish or lettuce) symbolizing the bitterness of oppression.
Charoset - A mixture of nuts, fruit and wine symbolizing the mortar Israelite slaves used to lay bricks.
Orange – Symbolizing the fruitfulness which women, queer, and transgender people bring to our community
Matzah – As our ancestors were fleeing Mitzrayim, they did not have enough time to let the bread dough rise. They carried the unfinished dough on their backs and the hot sun baked it into hard, flat matzah. For the eight days of Passover, we eat no leavened bread (chametz) of any kind in memory of their hasty flight.


haggadah Section: Introduction