Passover Seder Plate

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Traditional arrangement of items on the Passover Seder Plate. The items are counter-clockwise, from leftmost item are: the Chazeret, Maror, Charoset, Karpas, Z'roa, and Beitzah.

The Passover Seder Plate (ke'ara) is a special plate containing symbolic foods used by Jews during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate have special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal—a stack of three matzos—is placed on its own plate on the Seder table.

The six items on the Seder Plate are:

Maror and chazeret – Bitter herbs, symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery which the Jews endured in Egypt. For maror, many people mix freshly grated horseradish with cooked beets and sugar to make a condiment called chrein. (Note: If the horseradish itself is cooked or pickled, it is not valid for the Seder.) Whole horseradish root can also be eaten. Chazeret is typically romaine lettuce, whose roots are bitter-tasting. Either the horseradish or romaine lettuce may be eaten in fulfillment of the mitzvah of eating bitter herbs during the Seder.

Charoset – A sweet, brown, pebbly mixture, representing the mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build the storehouses of Egypt. In Ashkenazi Jewish homes, charoset is made from chopped walnuts, grated apples, cinnamon, and sweet red wine. Sephardi recipes call for dates and honey in addition to chopped nuts, cinnamon, and wine. The choice of ingredients reflects the various foods to which Israel is favorably compared in King Solomon's Song of Songs.

Karpas – A vegetable other than bitter herbs, which is dipped into salt water at the beginning of the Seder. Celery or boiled potato is usually used. The dipping of a simple vegetable into salt water (which represents tears) mirrors the pain felt by the Jewish slaves in Egypt, who could only eat simple foods. The consumption of the karpas early in the Seder is meant to spark questions from the children at the table. Usually in a Shabbat or holiday meal, the first thing to be eaten after the kiddush over wine is bread. At the Seder table, however, the first thing to be eaten after the kiddush is a vegetable. This leads immediately to the recital of the famous question, Ma Nishtana—"Why is this night different from all other nights?"

Z'roa – A roasted lamb 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. Since the destruction of the Temple, the z'roa serves as a visual reminder of the Pesach sacrifice; it is not eaten or handled during the Seder.

Beitzah – A roasted 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 (as eggs are the first thing served to mourners after a funeral), evoking the idea of mourning over the destruction of the Temple and our inability to offer any kind of sacrifices in honor of the Pesach holiday. Since the destruction of the Temple, the beitzah serves as a visual reminder of the chagigah; it is not eaten or handled during the Seder.

Many decorative and artistic Seder Plates sold in Judaica stores have pre-formed spaces for inserting the various symbolic foods. According to the Halakha (Jewish law), however, the items must be arranged in the order in which they will be used during the Seder, with the first item to be used placed closest to the leader of the Seder.

Table set for the beginning of the Passover Seder, including Passover Seder Plate (front center), bowl of salt water, three shmurah matzot (rear center), and bottles of kosher wine. A Hebrew language Haggadah sits beside each place setting.

The seventh symbolic item on the Seder table is a plate of three whole matzot, which are stacked and separated from each other by cloths or napkins. The top and bottom matzot will be used for the hamotzi (blessing over bread), while the middle matzah will be broken and half of it put aside for the afikoman.

A bowl of salt water, which is used for the two "dippings" of the Seder (once at the beginning of the Seder to dip the karpas, and once before the meal begins to dip a plain, hardboiled egg in remembrance of the chagigah) is not a part of the Seder Plate, but is placed on the table beside it.