(Don’t worry if you don’t have a special Seder Plate – any plate will do! For those attending our online community Seder, you can simply observe Reb Moshe’s Seder Plate. If this is your preference, skip down to the section, “Ceremonial foods on the table”.)
Ceremonial Foods & Items:
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Seder Plate to display ceremonial items
If you have a special Seder plate, great! If you don’t, no worries. Any plate will do. On it, you will place the primary symbols of the Seder (just a small amount).- A Shank Bone or Beet: Traditionally a piece of bone from a lamb, however many vegetarians prefer a roasted beet for this symbol.
- A Roasted Egg: there are many techniques, I boil my egg first, then brown it in a toaster oven. Don’t worry about cracks, but watch out for egg-splosions!
- Horseradish: a piece of root, or ground, perhaps a dab from a jar – just avoid the type with cream in it.
- Charoset… there are many recipes, all sweet with fruit and nuts chopped together to represent the mortar used by our ancestor slaves in Egypt. My family follows Eastern European tradition with apples and walnuts, others use dates and almonds. They’re all delicious, check family archives and the internet for the one you want to make.
- Parsley, a symbol of spring growth.
- A bitter vegetable such as celery, or bitter lettuce such as endive.
Here you see three styles: on the left is a Seder Plate with a place designated for each ceremonial item. In the center, little dishes are used to create a place for each item on a plain plate. On the right, the ceremonial items are just placed on the plate. All three are just fine. You probably noticed an addition on the plate to the right: an orange. This is a modern Passover symbol, and already people disagree on its origins. In fact, there are many other ritual foods people sometimes add to their Seder plates. Here are ten! Our Community Seder will include two of these modern additions:
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- An orange (tangerine will do) to symbolize solidarity with lesbians, gay men, and all Jewish community members that are marginalized.
- An olive as a symbol of hope for a future peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
- Sunflower seeds in support for, and solidarity with, the people of Ukraine.
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Ceremonial foods on the table:
- Horseradish, ground, again no cream, not a lot, but enough for everyone to get a spoonful.
- Charoset: a couple spoonfuls per person for the ceremony, but everyone is going to want MORE because it’s so yummy.
- Matzah:
- 3 pieces on a special plate used during the ceremony
- More for everyone to eat
- Parsley
- Salt Water for everyone to dip parsley in.
- Fruit of the vine, with or without alcohol: each person is supposed to drink 4 cups, but originally those cups were very small. You need enough grape juice and/or wine for everyone to fill their cups 4 times, plus whatever you’ll want to drink with dinner. Some people insist on Kosher wine, many do not.
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Other ceremonial items
- Pair of candles which we will light together
- Hand washing – sometimes people wave their hands in the air. Some share a small pitcher of water & people pour a bit in their hands. Perhaps damp wash cloths. This is a symbolic hand washing, hopefully everyone will have washed their hands the full on 20 second way before coming to the table.
- Special wine cup for Elijah: a kiddush cup if you have one, any type of small glass if you don’t. You’ll be putting a small amount of wine or juice in this cup.
- Special water glass for Miriam: often decorative stemware with water representing the miracle of water we had for drinking in the dessert
Non-ceremonial considerations
Even though you probably don’t keep kosher, on this special night, we try to embrace “Kosher Style”, avoiding foods like pork and shellfish, and not mixing dairy with meat (red or poultry).
Most importantly, NO Leavening! No bread, no cake, no pasta (unless they’re those special kinds you can find in the store for Passover). Beans and rice are controversial, some people say we shouldn’t cook those because they puff up which they say is like leavening. Others point out that in Exodus it’s clearly just yeasted products which should not be allowed to rise. Pretty much everyone extends that to exclude baking soda and baking powder from acceptable ingredients. Your choice. Those special Passover cakes use eggs for leavening, again, your choice whether that’s ok or not.
There are many traditional foods you may consider which are not part of the ceremony. Consider getting or making some of these (many recipes are available online, check out the amazing selection on My Jewish Learning):
- Chicken (or vegetarian) soup with matzoh balls
- Gefilte fish (much easier to buy than to make)
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Macaroons
- Special “Fruit Slice” Jelly candies
- Dried Fruit compote
Most of the way through the Seder, most families take a break and eat dinner. Keep it simple, remember you’ve been munching on ceremonial foods and may have just had soup, gefilte fish and eggs. Also, remember, you’re going to be busy with the Seder for a while before you want to serve the meal, so don’t choose something that needs work in the last hour or so before serving.
What to do:
- Several days in advance, figure out what kind of charoset you want and what the ingredients are. Then make your shopping list to include ingredients and ready-made products you need. Consider what you want to make for dinner. Local stores like Safeway and New Leaf have pretty much everything you’ll need.
- Go Shopping!
- Charoset will take some time to make, and some styles get better if they set a couple days. Prepare accordingly.
- On the day of your Seder, do what you need to do to prepare dinner.
- Put ceremonial items onto the Seder Plate and onto the table.
- Set your table with a glass for everyone. It helps to have a small plate each person will use for their ceremonial foods during the Seder. And it’s a good place for their drop of wine for each plague.