SYMBOLS OF PASSOVER

Passover commemorates the freedom of the Jewish people from slavery by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. It is an eight-day event that begins in the Jewish month of Nisan on the fifteenth night.

A family-oriented ritual dinner called the Seder is held in the home. Guests and family recount the story of Passover as it is recorded in the Book of Exodus in the Bible. Passover is the most abundant of Jewish holidays in terms of symbols.

A Seder plate is the center of the ritual and holds the following five items:

*Charoset or Haroset - This paste is meant to look like and represent the mortar
the Hebrews had to use when building with the Pharaoh's bricks for
the pyramids and various cities that were built. It has a course in texture and
muddy in color. It is made of chopped apples, walnuts, cinnamon and wine.
It's sweet flavor and pleasant smell are meant to symbolize freedom.

*Karpas - meant to symbolize springtime. It is an herb, usually parsley or
lettuce. that s dipped in salt water to symbolize the Jewish people while they
were enslaved.

*Beritzah - symbolizes the mourning for the suffering and deaths of Jewish
people throughout the ages. It is a baked, roasted or hard-boiled egg that
represents new life and the eternal existence of the Jewish people.

*Zeroa - symbolizes the sacrificial lamb offering that the Jews made to God.
It is a shank bone or a lamb bone. The Jews used the blood of this sacrificial
lamb to mark the doorways of their homes to let the Angel of Death know to
pass over them and spare the life of their first born. In the U.S. the actual
meal is most likely to be not lamb, but a beef brisket or a roasted chicken.
But the lamb shank will be on the Seder plate.

*Maror - represents the bitterness of slavery that the Jewish people have
suffered over time. It is a bitter herb--often horseradish or a variety of lettuce.
As it is eaten, the family and guests rejoice in the heroic spirit of the Jewish
people.

Seder dinners generally include wine and/or grape juice for toasts that represent
stages of the Jewish people while making their exodus from Egypt. These are:
1) freedom, 2) deliverance, 3) redemption and 4) release. The four toasts are to remind them of God's promises to provide for them, free them, to give them a land of their own, and to take them as His chosen people.

On the fourth toast with wine a special glass is poured for the prophet Elijah who has a place setting and a chair left for him at the Seder Elijah prophesied the coming of the Messiah and his spirit is invited to grace the home.

The Afikomen is a piece of matzo that represents the haste with which the Jewish
people had to leave Egypt. because they had no time to let the yeast in their bread dough rise. They brought the dough with them and baked it into flat crackers (matzo) in the desert sun. In the Seder the Afikomen is hidden by the Seder leader. The children look for it when it is time for dessert. They typically receive a prize or reward when they find it.

Matzo is called the "bread of affliction" and is baked unleavened. It is a symbol of divine help. Because the unbaked bread dough was brought on the trip out of Egypt, the three matzos that are eaten during the Seder are brought to the table "to go"--wrapped in a napkin.

A cushioned armchair is usually reserved for the Seder leader with a pillow placed on it. This is to symbolize the Israelites' freedom when they were released from bondage. Only free men could enjoy the comfort of leisurely dining in ancient times.