Unexpected Items for the Seder Plate

Passover is a time to embrace history and symbolism. We all know about the usual representative items on the seder plate:

KARPAS: A vegetable, often parsley, symbolizing spring and rebirth.

BAYTZAH: A roasted egg. This is also a symbol of spring and rebirth, with the roasting representing the Passover sacrifices that would have been brought to the ancient Temple.

CHAROSET: A mixture of fruits, nuts and wine/juice, charoset symbolizes the mortar that the Israelite slaves used to make bricks.

Z'ROA: A roasted shank bone. Like the roasted egg, this also represents the Passover offering. Many vegetarians use a roasted beet instead.

MAROR: Bitter herbs, often horseradish, symbolizing the bitterness of slavery.

CHAZERET: Many seder plates have an additional place for another bitter vegetable to symbolize slavery, often Romaine lettuce.

Those are the items we expect to see, but several unexpected things have been appearing on seder plates in recent times that convey great meaning. Here are some of them:

• An ORANGE in recognition of gay and lesbian Jews and of widows, orphans, Jews who are adopted, interfaith couples and families and all others who sometimes feel marginalized in the Jewish community. There are many urban myths about the use of the orange on the seder plate, and some people use it to represent including women on the bimah and in Jewish ritual life.

• OLIVES as a call for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

• A DANDELION (flower, dandelion greens, or tea) for trans liberation

• FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE, COFFEE OR COCOA BEANS to represent forced child labor in these industries.

• A TOMATO or other produce to represent the plight of farm workers.

• A POTATO to represent the continued exodus of Jews from oppressive regions, prompted by the plight of Ethiopian Jews airlifted to the Holy Land.

• A BANANA to recognize refugees, especially children who have been lost in the struggle for freedom. Prompted by the Syrian refugee crisis.

• GRAPES to remind us of the ancient custom of leaving the edges of the fields for people who were poor to eat from.

• PINECONES to acknowledge the plight of prisoners.

• An ACORN to acknowledge indigenous land.

• A BREAD CRUST for the inclusion of lesbian women in Judaism

And don't forget MIRIAM'S CUP, an empty cup placed next to Elijah's cup. Each seder participant is asked to pour a little bit of water into the cup to affirm that women are integral to the survival of the Jewish people.

Whether you adopt one or more of these symbolic items, come up with a new addition that suits your family/friends or stick with the traditional elements, I wish you a very meaningful and happy Passover.

~ Karen Seidman