The six traditional items on the Seder Plate are as follows:

  • Maror – Bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery that the Hebrews endured in Egypt. Fresh romaine lettuce or horseradish may be eaten as Maror in the fulfilment of the mitzvah (good deed) of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.
  • Charoset – A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar and brick used by the Hebrew slaves to build the storehouses or pyramids of Egypt. Charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.
  • Karpas – A vegetable other than bitter herbs representing hope and renewal, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. Parsley or another green vegetable. Some substitute parsley to slice of green onion (representing the bitterness of slavery in Egypt). 
  • Zeroah – It is special as it is the only element of meat on the Seder Plate. Roasted chicken neck or shankbone; symbolizing the Paschal Lamb (Passover sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Since the destruction of the Temple, the z'roa serves as a visual reminder of the Pesach sacrifice; it is not eaten or handled during the Seder. 
  • Beitzah – A roasted hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the festival sacrifice that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. It is a symbol of mourning (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Pesach holiday. It is not used during the formal part of the seder, but some people eat a regular hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water as the first course of the meal.  

Also on the Seder table is a plate of three whole matzot, which are stacked and separated from each other by cloths or napkins. The middle matzah will be broken and half of it put aside for the afikoman.  

A bowl of salt water, which is used for the first "dipping" of the Seder, is not traditionally part of the Seder Plate but is placed on the table beside it. 


haggadah Section: Introduction