The Passover Seder Plate

Jerusalem, 10 April, 2024 (TPS-IL) -- The Passover Seder plate contains six foods that are part of the Seder (from the Hebrew word for order or procedure) which is a set meal held on the first night of the holiday during which Jews around the world recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

A Zeroa (a shankbone): A reminder of the special Passover sacrifice. Passover is the only Jewish holiday which the Bible instructs a special sacrifice be performed for it in addition to the general holiday sacrifice

Beitza (a roasted hard-boiled egg): A reminder of the generic holiday sacrifice.

Maror (bitter herbs): A reminder of the bitter/harsh nature of the slavery in Egypt.

Chazeret (in modern Hebrew this word means horseradish): A second bitter herb.

Charoset (no literal translation): A sweet spread of some kind usually made with crushed nuts. It is meant to serve as a reminder of the mortar and bricks the Israelite slaves were forced to make in Egypt.

Karpas (usually a green vegetable) used to represent the early prosperity enjoyed by the children of Israel when they first came to Egypt.

Apr 8, 2024.
Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS