What does the food on a Seder plate symbolize?

Answer 1

These are the main items on a Seder plate:

Maror (מרור), or other bitter herbs, symbolizes the bitterness of the Hebrews' enslavement in Egypt.

Charoset (חרוסת), a sweet mixture of apples and nuts that is usually mixed with red wine and cinnamon. Charoset represents the mortar which was used by the Hebrews to build storehouses and cities during enslavement. The Maror is dipped in the Charoset to counter the Maror's sharpness. It is also symbolic of how the bitterness of slavery actually manifested, i.e. building of massive Egyptian structures.

Karpas (כרפס), a vegetable such as parsley, which is dipped in salt water or vinegar to represent the tears shed by the Hebrews during slavery (an alternative explanation is that Karpas symbolizes Joseph's tunic which was dipped in blood by his brothers to convince their father that he had been killed by wild beasts, as in the Torah/Old Testament story). Used as an appetizer to induce the children to ask questions. Dipping is a sign of freedom, yet dipping in salt water reminds us of the bitterness of the slavery. Contradictions that cause one to ask, "why is this night different than other nights?"

Z'roa (זרוע), a roasted lamb's shankbone, It symbolizes the Korban Pesach (קרבן פסח) (Passover sacrifice) that took place in the Temple in Jerusalem while it still stood. The Jewish people were required to have a sacrifice on the 14th day of Nissan and eaten the night of the 15th when the temple stood. It is symbolic of the offering of the lamb they killed and it's blood that they put on the doorposts so the angel of death passed over their houses.

Beitzah (ביצה), a roasted egg, symbolizes the Korban Chagigah (קרבן חגיגה) Temple sacrifice (an alternative is that the ovoid shape of the egg represents the cyclical nature of life and the Universe). It represents the new life in which they would have in the promised land (Israel) and the reinvention of the Jewish identity.

Matzoh, (מצה) symbolic of the unleavened bread, that the Israelites consumed when they left Egypt in a hurry and did not have sufficient time to let it rise, eaten while crossing the desert.

The Seder Plate is linked to Pesach (פסח), or Passover in English, which concerns the story of Moses.

Answer 2

There are 5 items on a seder plate:

Maror - Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Egypt. Either horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.

Charoset - A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.

Karpas - A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) mirrors the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt.

Beitzah - A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning.

Z'roa - A roasted lamb or goat shankbone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

Some seder plates have a 6th item, Chazeret, which is just another form of bitter herbs, and is usually represented with Lettuce. Some seder plates have an orange, which symbolizes inclusion of groups that were previous given lower status or excluded, such as women and the LGBT Community.

Answer 3

There are 5 items on a seder plate:

Maror - Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Egypt. Either horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.

Charoset - A sweet, brown mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.

Karpas - A vegetable other than bitter herbs, usually parsley, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) mirrors the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt.

Beitzah - A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning.

Z'roa - A roasted lamb or goat shankbone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

Some seder plates have a 6th item, Chazeret, which is just another form of bitter herbs, and is usually represented with Lettuce.

Some seder plates have a 7th item (or 6th, if there's no Chazeret), which is an orange or orange slice. It represents equal rights for women and the LGBT community.

Answer 4

Beitzah, a roasted egg, which symbolises the korban chagigah, a sacrifice made in the Temple in Jerusalem and later eaten as part of the Seder in ancient times - according to some, the egg's round shape also symbolises the cyclical nature of time and life.

Maror and chazeret, two bitter herbs such as horse radish and romaine lettuce, symbolising the bitterness of slavery. Either one is eaten so that the mitzvah (commandment) to eat bitter herbs as part of the Seder is kept.

Karpas, any vegetable other than bitter herbs such as potato, which is dipped in salty water to symbolise the tears cried by slaves.

Charoset, a mixture of apples and wine/Grape Juice which resembles mortar and symbolises the mortar used by the ancient Hebrews to build storehouses in Egypt.

Z'roa, a roasted lamb shank, symbolising the korban Pesach, a lamb sacrificed during Passover in the Temple in ancient times. Vegetarian and vegan Jews substitute a pieve of beetroot instead.

Answer 5

Here is the symbolism of the items on the Seder plate:
a) The bitter herbs (maror) symbolize the harsh slavery which the Israelites suffered in Egypt. Either horseradish or romaine lettuce is traditionally used for maror.
b) Charoset - A sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is traditionally made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine.
c) Karpas - A vegetable other than bitter herbs, traditionally parsley, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) recalls the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt.
d) Beitzah - A hard-boiled egg, symbolizing the korban chagigah (festival sacrifice) that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem and roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night. Although both the Pesach sacrifice and the chagigah were meat offerings, the chagigah is commemorated by an egg, a symbol of mourning.
e) Z'roa - A roasted lamb or goat shank-bone, chicken wing, or chicken neck; symbolizing the korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice), which was a lamb that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem, then roasted and eaten as part of the meal on Seder night.

f) Chazeret - identical to maror, since the bitter herb is eaten twice.

Pesach (Passover) is important to us since in it we relive the Exodus from Egypt and our birth as a nation, both of which were preparations for receiving the Torah from God.
The highlight of Passover is the Seder meal. This meal is of great importance in Judaism. It is a 3325-year old continuous tradition that began on the night of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exodus chapter 12), and is fully detailed in our ancient Oral Traditions (Talmud, chapter Arvei Pesachim).
The Seder meal is one of those occasions, like Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, that Jews all over the world, Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike, observe in common. During the Seder, we keep the essential mitzva and customs of handing Jewish traditions down to the next generation, with the traditional Seder foods and the ceremony of reading the Passover Haggadah which retells the events of the Exodus.
During all the days of Passover, matzah (unleavened bread) is eaten; while leavened foods such as bread, cake, cookies, cereal and pasta are forbidden. Certain prayers are added in the synagogue services, and the Torah is read each day.