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What is on our fair trade chocolate seder plate?
Contributed by Shoshana Rice

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

The Seder Plate

We place a Seder Plate at our table as a reminder to discuss certain aspects of the Passover story. Each item has its own significance.

Maror  – The bitter herb, providing a visceral reminder of the bitterness of slavery, the life of hard labor our ancestors experienced in Egypt. This is represented by our piece of fair trade bitter dark chocolate.

Charoset  – Usually a delicious mix of sweet wine, apples, cinnamon and nuts that resembles the mortar Jewish slaves used to layer bricks in Egypt. For a chocolate Charoset, we provided fair trade chocolate chips to mix. You may either mix them into your traditional Charoset, or if you don't have one already prepared, you can make your brick mortar by mixing the chocolate chips with jam, almond butter, or any type of sticky food you have around.

Karpas  – Usually a green vegetable like parsley, is a reminder of the green sprouting up all around us during spring. We dip it into the saltwater, a symbol of tears, to juxtapose the freshness of the green coming out of the sadness of slavery. For our seder, when it's time, we will melt fair trade chocolate and dip in it whatever fresh fruit you have around.

Zeroah  – A shank bone, represents the lamb sacrifice made during the 10th plague on the Egyptians. The Jews painted their doorposts with lambs blood so the plague would pass over their homes. This is represented by our fair trade chocolate covered orange slice that resembles a bone.

Beitzah  – The roundness of the egg represents the cycle of life — even in the most painful of times, there is always hope for a new beginning. This is represented by our fair trade chocolate egg.

Orange  - symbolizes full inclusion in modern day Judaism: not only for women, but also for people with disabilities, intermarried couples, and the LGBT Community. The story claims that once when a woman tried to go on the bimah to read Torah, someone told her that a woman belonged on the bimah as an orange belonged on the Seder plate. This is also represented by the fair trade chocolate covered orange slice.

Matzah

Matzah is the unleavened bread we eat to remember that when the Jews fled Egypt, they didn’t even have time to let the dough rise on their bread. We commemorate this by removing all bread and bread products (Chametz) from our home during Passover.

Elijah’s Cup

The fifth ceremonial cup of wine poured during the Seder. It is left untouched in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah. During the Seder dinner, biblical verses are read while the door is briefly opened to welcome Elijah. In this way the Seder dinner not only commemorates the historical redemption from Egyptian bondage of the Jewish people but also calls to mind their future redemption when Elijah and the Messiah shall appear.

Miriam’s Cup

Another relatively new Passover tradition is that of Miriam’s cup. The cup is filled with water and placed next to Elijah’s cup. Miriam was the sister of Moses and a prophetess in her own right. After the exodus when the Israelites are wandering through the desert, just as Hashem gave them Manna to eat, legend says that a well of water followed Miriam and it was called ‘Miriam’s Well’. The tradition of Miriam’s cup is meant to honor Miriam’s role in the story of the Jewish people and the spirit of all women, who nurture their families just as Miriam helped sustain the Israelites.
haggadah Section: Introduction

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