We now take some maror and charoset and put them between two pieces of matzah and give the sandwich to the person on our left. In doing this, we recall the sage Hillel who, in remembrance of the loss of the Temple, created the Korech sandwich. He said that by eating the Korech, we would taste the bitterness of slavery mixed with the sweetness of freedom. This practice suggests that part of the challenge of living is to taste freedom even in the midst of oppression, and to be ever conscious of the oppression of others even when we feel that we are free.

"On all other nights, we don't even dip once, but on this night we dip twice." Over the centuries, we have added the charoset - the sweet apple mixture - to our Seder elements to symbolize the mortar with which the Israelites toiled to build Pharaoh 's treasure cities. Let us again put some horseradish on a piece of matzah, but this time, let us dip a second time into the sweet charoset, and remember that even bitter circumstances are sweetened by hope. Let's all eat together.


haggadah Section: Koreich
Source: Smith College Jewish Community