Passover or Pesach is the Jewish spring festival. It commemorates the passing of evil, freedom from slavery under the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II and the Exodus, the importance of family and the arrival of spring.
The Passover Seder Meal
Food may be the most powerful representation of culture. In all cultures, sharing a meal together is one of the hallmarks of humanity.
The Seder meal is an important Passover tradition. One of its main purposes is to teach our children who we are and where we come from. The Seder plate is filled with seven symbols that tell the story of the Exodus. The teaching of the Seder is very visceral, or filled with feeling.
- Matzo is an unleavened flat bread. It represents eating in a hurry on the road.
- Baytzah is a baked egg. It represents the suffering of the people during enslavement and the renewal of life during the Exodus.
- Maror is a bitter herb. It represents the bitterness of slavery and the tears shed by the people. Different herbs can be used such as horseradish, romaine lettuce, endive, parsley or dandelion.
- Charoset is a paste of fruits, nuts and wine. It represents the mortar we used to build buildings of bricks during enslavement.
- Karpas is another vegetable that represents the tears of the people during enslavement.
- Zeorah is a roasted lamb shankbone. It represents the sacrifice the people made on the night we fled Egypt.
- Wine. Four cups of wine are served. They represent the stages of the Exodus: freedom, deliverance, redemption and release.
There are many variations of the traditions. Knowing who you are, amplifies the possibilities of who you can become.
Chag Pesach samech”
Happy Passover
The “ch” in Hebrew is pronounced like the end of the name “Bach”.