The Passover Symbols

Haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu

We have now told the story of Passover…but wait! We’re not quite done. There are still several symbols on our seder plate we haven’t explained. Rabban Gamaliel would say that whoever didn’t explain the shank bone, matzah and maror (bitter herbs) hasn’t done Passover justice.

The shank bone represents the “ pesach, ” the special lamb sacrifice made in the days of the Temple for the Passover holiday. During the final plague, the Israelites were instructed to smear lamb’s blood on the lintel of their homes so the angel of death would pass over their homes. The sacrifice and now the shank bone are called pesach, from the Hebrew word meaning “to pass over,” because God passed over the houses of the Israelites when inflicting plagues upon their Egyptian oppressors.

The matzah on our table reminds us that when the Israelites were finally freed from bondage, they rushed to leave Egypt before Pharaoh could change his mind. As they fled, the dough they made for bread did not have time to fully rise, so they ate flat matzah instead. During Passover, we also eat matzah and refrain from eating anything that is leavened or can rise.

The bitter herbs symbolize the bitterness of slavery, the life of hard labor the Israelites experienced.

During our Passover seder, we are reminded over and over again to tell this important story of freedom to each other and to those who will come after us. We do this to remember, to feel a connection to the story of the Israelites so we will never take our freedom for granted. Every generation is plagued with different challenges to freedom, and our story takes on new meanings throughout hundreds and hundreds of years. In the modern era, alongside the symbols of old, newer elements have been added to many seder plates to remind us of present-day struggles and triumphs.

So how was it that the orange found its place on the seder plate as a symbol of feminism, egalitarianism and those who are often marginalized?

The story has it that scholar Susannah Heschel, daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel, a preeminent modern Jewish philosopher, was inspired by the abundant new customs expressing women’s viewpoints and experiences and started placing an orange on the seder plate.

At an early point in the seder, she asked each person to take a segment of the orange, make the blessing over fruit and eat the segment in recognition of all those in our midst who feel marginalized in the Jewish community. She encouraged each guest to spit out the seeds in their orange segment to reject hatred and homophobia. The bright and vibrant orange suggests the fruitfulness for the whole community when everyone is a valued and respected member. 

Source:  
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Table of contents
    Introduction
  • Leader’s Guide
  • How To Use This Haggadah
  • A Seder for Everyone
  • The Order of the Seder
    • Kadesh
  • Kiddush (the blessing over wine)
    • Urchatz
  • Urchatz: Ritual hand-washing in preparation for the seder
    • Karpas
  • Karpas: Dipping a green vegetable in salt water
    • Yachatz
  • Yachatz: Breaking the middle matzah
    • Maggid - Beginning
  • Maggid: Telling the story of Passover
    • -- Four Questions
  • The Four Questions
  • Answering Our Questions
    • -- Four Children
  • The Four Children
    • -- Exodus Story
  • Telling Our Story
    • -- Ten Plagues
  • The Ten Plagues
  • The Modern Plagues
    • -- Cup #2 & Dayenu
  • Dayeinu
  • The Passover Symbols
  • In Every Generation
  • The Second Glass of Wine
    • Rachtzah
  • Rachtza: Ritual hand-washing in preparation for the meal
    • Motzi-Matzah
  • Motzi matzah: The blessing over the meal and matzah
    • Maror
  • Maror: Dipping the bitter herb in sweet charoset
    • Koreich
  • Koreich: Eating a sandwich of matzah and bitter herb
    • Shulchan Oreich
  • Shulchan oreich: Eating the meal!
    • Tzafun
  • Tzafoon: Finding and eating the afikoman
    • Bareich
  • Bareich: Saying the blessing after the meal and inviting Elijah the prophet
  • The Third Glass of Wine
  • The Cup of Elijah
    • Hallel
  • Hallel: Singing songs that praise God
  • The Fourth Glass of Wine
    • Nirtzah
  • Nirtzah: Ending the seder and thinking about the future
    • Commentary / Readings
  • 20 Table Topics for Your Passover Seder
  • Four Questions About Trans Rights and Identities
  • Four Questions About Anti-Semitism
  • Four Questions About Mental Health
  • Four Questions About Taking Notice of This Moment
  • Four Questions About Feminism
  • Four Questions About Labor Rights
  • Four Questions About Climate Change
  • Four Questions About LGBTQ Liberation
  • Four Questions About Racial Justice
  • Four Questions About Inclusion
  • Four Questions About Israel
  • Four Questions About Parenting Jewishly Today
  • Four Questions About Social Justice
    • Songs
  • Let My People Go
  • Chad Gadya
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