What Can You Eat at a Seder Supper?
The festive meal taken during the middle of the Seder is called Shulchan Orech, which means "set table." It is typically a very large meal, lasting at least two hours, with multiple courses served. The foods served at Shulchan Orech vary according to tradition, taste, Passover restrictions and the laws of kashrut (that the food must be kosher). Most people elect to eat a fleishich (meat-based) meal, meaning dairy products may not be served.
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Foods With Ceremonial Significance
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There are several foods that are customary to eat at Schulchan Orech because they serve as reminders of the history behind Passover, or because they are simply traditional. These include boiled eggs dipped in saltwater, charoset (a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine), horseradish, boiled potatoes dipped in saltwater and lamb. The saltwater represents the sweat of the Israelites during their enslavement. The charoset represents the bricks they used to build cities for the Egyptians. The horseradish represents the bitterness of their labor. The lamb represents the Passover offering.
Traditional Jewish Foods
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Schulchan Orech, being a major festive meal, is a good opportunity to eat traditional Jewish foods as consumed by Jews in the 19th and 20th centuries. These include gefilte fish (fish cakes mixed with matzo meal, onions and carrots), matzo ball soup, half-sour pickles, kishke (a kind of sausage), jellyroll cake, leeks, chopped liver and wine.
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Special Occasion Foods
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Throughout much of history, the Jews lived in oppressive social conditions, which included great poverty. Thus, more expensive foods were not always available or affordable. These were reserved for special occasions such as Passover. Some Jewish luxury foods include beef brisket, turkey, smoked salmon, dates, figs, citrus fruit and olives.
Matzo
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On Passover there is a prohibition against eating leavened bread. Instead, Jews consume matzo, which is unleavened. Matzo can be eaten whole, typically with chopped liver, or with horseradish and charoset. It can also be ground up into meal and combined with potato starch for a flour substitute in baking---dessert cookies, for instance.
The Afikomen
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The afikomen is a special matzo; it is part of the three ritual matzoh used in the Seder. By the traditions of the Seder it must be the last food eaten during Shulchan Orech. In English, afikomen means "that which comes after," indicating its status at the end of the meal. It is traditional for children to "steal" the afikomen, hide it and then demand a reward from their parents in exchange for returning the afikomen, without which Shulchan Orech may not be concluded.
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References
- Photo Credit candle and matzoh image by Roman Sigaev from Fotolia.com
