The Seder Plate - Ingredients and Order of Placement

Ingredients and Order of Placement

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Preparing the Seder plate requires several hours of work. It is advisable to get other members of the house to help so that the work will be completed before the Seder begins. It is best to prepare all the seder foods before the onset of the Holiday in order to avoid halachic questions.

The special foods we eat on Passover are also food for thought. Every item on the Seder plate abounds in meaning and allusion. The Seder plate has six items on it, arranged in a special order. The plate is placed on top of the covering of the three matzot and is placed in front of the head of the household.

The foods of the Seder plate are listed below, with the reason each is included, the method of preparing it, and its role in the Seder meal.

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	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 . . . 14 Comments
	The Egg A hard-boiled egg represents the holiday offering brought in the days of the Holy Temple. The meat of this animal constituted the main part of the Passover meal . . . 3 Comments
	The Bitter Herbs Bitter herbs (maror) remind us of the bitterness of the slavery of our forefathers in Egypt. Fresh grated horseradish, romaine lettuce, and endive are the most common choices . . . 1 Comment
	The Paste A mixture of apples, nuts and wine which resembles the mortar and brick made by the Jews when they toiled for Pharaoh . . . 7 Comments
	The Vegetable A non-bitter root vegetable alludes to the backbreaking work of the Jews as slaves. The Hebrew letters of the word karpas can be arranged to spell “perech samech” . . . 5 Comments
	The Lettuce The lettuce symbolizes the bitter enslavement of our fathers in Egypt. The leaves of romaine lettuce are not bitter, but the stem, when left to grow in the ground, turns hard and bitter . . . 7 Comments

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April 6, 2012

Thank you

Thank you so much for the Seder Wizard and the other guidance for Passover on your website. We had a Deluxe Edition of the Maxwell House Haggadah for some of the prayers, but your guidance and commentary filled in a lot in an engaging way. Please keep up your wonderful Website.

Ann
Highland, MD

April 5, 2012

Seder Plate

Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday!

Lisa
Providence, RI

April 3, 2012

passover

i use bitter leave as my bitter herbs i hope is good because the leave is very bitter and it grows in afrika

naomi
brussels, belgium

March 2, 2012

Passover wine

I have a question. Is the wine used in the Seder or at the family Passover Meal fermented? Didn't understand what "sweet wine" meant. Our class is planning on demonstrating a Seder and then having a meal after worship. What are the guidelines here.

Anonymous
Austell, Georgia

April 15, 2011

Oh how I love passover

This is my first Passover and I am blessed to know the truth about all things concerning G-d and I want to thank Chabad for helping me .They have taught me alot and want to learn more

Shashonna (Susan) Ganter
Waterloo, il

April 13, 2011

Words

Read the Haggadah for passover.

Miss Yael Switz

April 9, 2011

Words

I needs the words that one must read and speack so that it becomes part of your mind set and keep you on the right track

Karene
Pretoria, South Africa

January 6, 2011

???

I need some of the jewish names of this stuff ! ! !

A bit confused

April 2, 2009

how do i make the bitter herbs

please get back to me i grated the horseradish and it is not strong.

Anonymous
scottsdale, az

March 27, 2008

RE: Seder Meal

Opening the door while reciting the verses immediately following Grace after Meals is indeed a customary part of the celebration.

It is said that at that moment we open the door for Elijah himself.

It is also customary that a special cup of wine is prepared in his honor as well.

Menachem Posner, Chabad.org

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