Pesach Information - April 1999

Pesach (Passover) is the major Jewish spring festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt more than 3000 years ago. Ritual observance of the festival centers around the Seder and reading the Haggadah. Individually, we are encouraged to observe the mitzvah of Pesach for seven days. One of those commandments with which many of us struggle revolves around the question of what we are allowed to eat and what is prohibited. The Torah states, "You shall eat nothing leavened...."(Exodus 12:20). Among Reform Jews, abstaining from leaven may take many forms—from not eating those foods which obviously contain leaven, such as bread or cake, to the more stringent avoidance and examination of all ingredients in a particular foodstuff. By consciously making a choice to abstain during the whole week of Pesach, we are constantly aware of the festival and our Jewish identity.

Symbols of the Season:
On the seder plate are found six items. First the zeroah (roasted shankbone), commemorating the pascal sacrifice (korban pesach), which was made the night our ancestors fled Egypt, and which was made each year after that on the 15th day of Nisan, for many generations. In addition, there is a beitzah (roasted egg), which also symbolizes a passover sacrifice (the korban chagigah) which each Jew would offer up at the Temple in Jerusalem during the periods of the First and Second Temples. The egg has also come to symbolize the new life of our people in freedom, as well as the rebirth of springtime. Next, you will find karpas, (a green vegetable), such as parsley, which symbolizes spring and new life. During the course of the seder service, the karpas will be dipped into salt water, symbolizing the tears of suffering shed by our enslaved ancestors. For the maror (bitter herbs) you can use horseradish root (some use romaine lettuce). Haroset is a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, and wine which, to the eye, resembles the mortar used by the slaves in the construction with bricks in Egypt. However, its taste is sweet freedom, thus symbolizing the redemptive transition from slavery to freedom. Some seder plates contain a sixth compartment for hazeret (another type of maror). You can use romaine lettuce for this.

In addition, there is a ceremonial plate of three matzot (matzahs), with a cover, for the table. The matzah recalls the episode in the story of the Exodus in which the Israelites, lacking time to raise their dough properly on the night of their escape from bondage, baked the unraised dough into flat, hard cakes, called matzot. Wine, our symbol for joy, is another important part of the ritual of Pesach. The Haggadah instructs us to drink four cups, corresponding to the four promises of redemption in Exodus 6: 6-7. For those who do not consume alcohol, sparkling grapejuice is an excellent substitute and the blessing applies to it as well.

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