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The Plate and what it means
Contributed by Philip Aarons

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This is to explain why we have what we have on the sedar plate.

Matzah

We have three matzot, so that we can break one (as a slave would), and still have two whole matzot over which to recite the Hamotzi blessing (as required on Shabbat and holidays). The matzot are symbolic of the three groups of Jews: Priests, Levites and Israelites. They also commemorate the three measures of fine flour that Abraham told Sarah to bake into matzah when they were visited by the three angels (Genesis 18:6).

The Shank bone

A piece of roasted meat represents the lamb that was the special paschal sacrifice on the eve of the exodus from Egypt, and annually on the afternoon before Passover in the Holy Temple.

Some use a forearm of a lamb. Called the zeroa, it alludes to the verse which states, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm (zeroa).”

Egg

A hard-boiled egg represents the pre-holiday offering (chagigah) that was brought in the days of the Holy Temple. The meat of this animal constituted the main part of the Passover meal. The Aramaic word for “egg” is bei’ah, which is similar to the Aramaic word for “desire,” expressing that this was the night when G‑d desired to redeem us

Bitter Herbs

Bitter herbs (maror) remind us of the bitterness of the slavery of our forefathers in Egypt. 

Charoset

A mixture of apples, pears, nuts and wine, which resembles the mortar and brick made by the Jews when they toiled for Pharaoh.

Parsley or Karpas

Many have the custom to use parsley, called karpas in Hebrew. This vegetable alludes to the backbreaking work of the Jews as slaves, as the Hebrew letters of karpas can be arranged to spell the word perech plus the letter samech. Perech means backbreaking work, and samech is numerically equivalent to 60, referring to 60 myriads, equaling 600,000, which was the number of Jewish males over 20 years of age who were enslaved in Egypt.

Elijah’s Cup

The fifth ceremonial cup of wine poured during the Seder. It is left untouched in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah. During the Seder dinner, biblical verses are read while the door is briefly opened to welcome Elijah. In this way the Seder dinner not only commemorates the historical redemption from Egyptian bondage of the Jewish people but also calls to mind their future redemption when Elijah and the Messiah shall appear. We will talk about Elijah later

Miriam’s Cup

Another relatively new Passover tradition is that of Miriam’s cup. The cup is filled with water and placed next to Elijah’s cup. Miriam was the sister of Moses and a prophetess in her own right. After the exodus when the Israelites are wandering through the desert, just as Hashem gave them Manna to eat, legend says that a well of water followed Miriam and it was called ‘Miriam’s Well’. The tradition of Miriam’s cup is meant to honor Miriam’s role in the story of the Jewish people and the spirit of all women, who nurture their families just as Miriam helped sustain the Israelites.
haggadah Section: Introduction

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