The Seder Plate
Shankbone | meat, poultry / roasted or boiled | Recalls the original Passover sacrifice, as well as subsequent sacrifices at Jerusalem Temple |
karpas | green vegetables | dipped in salt-water, recalls
the tears / suffering of the
israelites under Egyptian
bondage
also symbolizes spring |
haroset | apples & nuts, or dates, chopped into fine paste, sometimes rolled into balls | recalls the mortar used by the Israelites when building cities for Pharao |
maror | bitter herbs (horseradish, or romaine lettuce) | recalls the bitter experience of bondage |
egg | boiled | commemorates sacrifice in
Temple times: egg as a food
for mourners, since Temple is
destroyed.
also symbolizes spring; symbol of fertility and new life |
matzah (shmurah matzot) | unleavened bread | recalls the hurry with which Israelites left Egypt; or the food of the desert |