B"H
Thursday, Nissan 6, 5776 / April 14, 2016 – HAKHEL YEAR
We welcome the holiday of Pesach (Passover) with the Pesach Seder. The Seder centers around the following items on the Seder table: Three matzot; shank bone ("zeroa"); hard boiled egg ("beitza"); bitter herbs (“maror”); a paste made of apples, nuts, wine (“charoset”); a vegetable (potato or celery etc. called "karpas").
A dish with salt-water is placed on the Seder table. After the Kiddush and drinking the first cup of wine, we wash our hands, recite the blessing over the vegetable (karpas), dip it in salt water and eat it.
Q. The matzah, maror and karpas, we will eat during the Seder. But what does the shank bone and hard boiled egg at the Seder represent?
A.In the days of the Beth HaMikdash (Holy Temple), Jews would offer two sacrifices in honor of the Passover holiday -- the Peasch sacrifice ("Korban Pesach") and the Chagigah sacrifice ("Korban Chagigah"). The bone on the Seder plate recalls the Pesach sacrifice; the hard-boiled egg symbolizes the Chagigah sacrifice.
Q. The maror reminds us of the bitterness Jews suffered as slaves in Egypt, but what is the significance of the charoset-paste?
A. The charoset-paste is used to dip the maror into it before eating. The texture of the charoset is like mortar. It reminds us of the bricks and mortar which Jews in Egypt had to make when building the cities of Pisom and Ramses, as told in the Torah.
Q. What is the significance of the salt-water at the Seder?
A.The salt-water is symbolic of the "tears" which the children of Israel shed as a result of their suffering during their enslavement in Mitzrayim-Egypt.
Q. Why was an egg chosen to represent the Chagiga sacrifice at the Seder?"
A. A mourner eats an egg in the first meal at the start of Shiva, for the egg is round and symbolizes the cycle of life. The egg is a symbol of mourning. But why a symbol of mourning when we celebrate our freedom?
Our Sages tell us that at the time of our rejoicing, we must remember the destruction of the Holy Temple. Our happiness is not complete without the Temple. We gather at the Seder to rejoice and celebrate our freedom, but at the same time, we also remember our Holy Temple and its destruction.
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 as the first Seder.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY