How to Prepare a Passover Seder Plate
The Seder Plate is an important part of the Seder meal during a Passover (or Pesach) celebration. It symbolizes the many things that the Israelites went through to achieve freedom from slavery. With a quick trip to your local grocery store, you can prepare a Seder plate for your Pesach celebration, too.
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Things You'll Need
- Lamb shank bone
- Apples
- Cinnamon
- Sugar
- Raisins
- Lemon juice
- Whole Romaine lettuce leaf
- Eggs
- Boiled potato
- Shmurah matzah
Instructions
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1
Prepare the z'roa, or roast lamb shank bone. The lamb bone is a symbol of the blood of the slain lambs that the Israelites marked their doors with to tell the angel of death to pass over them (hence, Passover). Go to your butcher counter and ask for any leftover lamb bones. Before using them, you will want to bake them, so they are dryer and easier to handle. Set your oven to 450 degrees, farenheit. Bake the bones for 20 to 30 minutes, then let cool.
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2
Prepare the charoset. The charoset is a sweet mixture that symbolizes the mortar that the Israelites used in slavery to help the Egyptians build their pyramids. To make charoset, dice up two apples and toss with a tablespoon lemon juice, two tablespoons sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon and half a cup of raisins. Let it sit in the refrigerator until ready to plate.
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3
Buy the chazaret. Chazaret are bitter herbs that symbolise the bitter years of slavery in Egypt. The roots of Romaine lettuce are bitter, and can be used to fulfill this part.
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Prepare the beitzah. The beitzah is a hard-cooked egg. It symbolizes the sacrificial offerings made at the original temple in Jerusalem. You may hard boil the egg, even though the tradition is to bake it. Many people boil it now, for convenience. Once cooked and cooled, peel it.
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Prepare the karpas and salted water. The karpas is a vegetable, other than bitter herbs, to be served with salted water. The vegetable (which in this case is a boiled potato) is dipped in salted water and eaten to symbolize the tears shed by the Israelites during their oppresion. Prepare a small dish of salted water on the side.
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Purchase the shmurah matzah. This is different than regular matzah, in that the grain used to make it has been protected from any exposure to water or leavening agents. It also symbolizes the short amount of time that the Israelites had to prepare themselves to flee from the Egyptians. It was so quick, that they didn't even have time to let their dough rise, so they ate unleavened bread.
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Arrange the Seder plate. Many Judaica stores sell Seder plates, but any nice dishware that is large enough will do. Arrange the symbols in a circle in this order: chazeret, z'roa, charoset, karpas, and beitzah. The shmurah matzah is placed on i's own plate nest to the Seder plate, covered, as is the dish of salted water.
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