Wednesday, Nissan 9, 5777 / April 5, 2017
At the Seder we place a plate with the following items on it: A vegetable (onion, celery or potato); Maror (bitter herbs); Charoset (resembles mortar, which reminds us of the enslavement); A shank bone (reminds us of the Pesach sacrifice); A hard boiled egg (reminds us of the “chagiga” sacrifice).
Q. Why was an egg chosen to represent the Chagiga sacrifice at the Seder?"
A. The egg represents other things too as related to Pesach. A mourner, one who lost a parent G-d forbid, eats an egg at the first meal when beginning the Shiva. The egg is round and symbolizes the cycle of life. Thus, the egg is a symbol of mourning. Our Sages tell us that at the time of our rejoicing, we must also remember the destruction of the Holy Temple. Although we are gathered at the Seder to rejoice and celebrate our freedom, our joy is not complete without our Holy Temple.
In connection to this, it is interesting to note, that the night of the 9th of Av ("Tisha B'Av"), when both Temples were destroyed, always falls on the same night of the week as the first Seder.
Rabbi Abraham Iben Ezra has another interpretation for the egg at the Seder. He explains that eggs were a forbidden food in Egypt. The egg at the Seder symbolizes our freedom from the Egyptians.
Also, unlike other foods, eggs become firmer when boiled. This recalls the story of the Jewish people in Egypt. The Torah tells us that the more the Jewish people were afflicted, the more they multiplied and became exceedingly mighty.
On the lighter side: A little boy once returned home from Hebrew school. His father asked, “What did you learn today?”
The boy answered, “The Rabbi told us how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
“How did he?” asked the father.
The boy said “Moses was a big strong man and he beat Pharoah up. Then while he was down, he got all the people together and ran towards the sea. When they got there, the Corps of Engineers build a huge pontoon bridge. Once they got on the other side, they blew up the bridge while the Egyptians were trying to cross.”
The father was shocked. “Is that what the Rabbi taught you?”
The boy replied, “No. But you’d never believe the story he DID tell us!”
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY