Reader:   The Passover Seder has evolved over the years.   From over 2,000 years ago, when Jews gathered to eat the Paschal Sacrifice in the Temple in Jerusalem.

Reader: After the Temple’s destruction in 70 CE, the Rabbis thought about how to update it for their new situation 

Reader:  So the Rabbis borrowed the dining habits of their aristocratic contemporaries and modeled the seder on  the Greek symposium, the Hellenistic banquet.

Reader: That's why we're supposed to be reclining on sofas, with servants pouring wine, serving appetizers and dips before the meal.

Reader:  And after dinner?  Philosophical debate, maybe even on the nature of freedom

Reader:   So, if we were those Rabbis, what would our celebration meal look like today?  Thanksgiving? Smorgasbord? Dinner at Tio Pepe's?   Reviewed by Zagat's?

Reader: And what would our first course be?  The Greeks used vegetables dipped in saltwater.  Today?  Maybe a salad. some tapas, some soup.   

Reader:  Tonight, we'll have the traditional Karpas followed by our modern karpas--matza ball soup?

Reader: We dip our green in the saltwater to show that life is growth, but that even those things that appear bitter—a bad grade, a broken relationship, a beaten basketball team—are ultimately for the best.   The distinction between sweet and sour is only clear when we have gone through both.


haggadah Section: Karpas
Source: Bonnie Zaben