This year, Easter in the Latin Church coincides with the Jewish feast of Pesach—a convergence that happens relatively rarely, as both celebrations are calculated according to different calendars. Pesach is a discovery of how the Passover meal becomes a tangible experience of salvation history through the senses of sight, taste, and touch, writes Sr. Eliana Kurylo, CB, in a reflection for the Abraham J. Heschel Center of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.
Sr. Kurylo recalls that Pesach is “a feast commemorating the Israelites’ bondage in Egypt and their eventual exodus into freedom.” It is “a story that shaped Jewish consciousness and values. To this day, it remains deeply meaningful for all people. It is worth noting that Pesach is the oldest continuously celebrated Jewish holiday.”
A key element of Pesach is the Seder (from Hebrew, meaning “order” or “sequence”). Sr. Eliana Kurylo explains that the Seder is “a meal rich in spiritual meaning.” “The purpose of the ceremonial dinner is to relive the Exodus from Egypt, to rekindle the shared memory of a foundational Jewish story, and to meditate on deliverance from Egyptian bondage,” she emphasizes. During the Seder, participants eat matzah (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), karpas (parsley) dipped in salt water, and a sweet paste called charoset. The rituals that accompany the Seder are described in the Haggadah, a prayer book used only during Pesach.
Each of the foods served is linked to the story of liberation. As Sr. Kurylo notes, the Seder plate contains “three pieces of matzah placed one on top of the other and then covered. They represent the three groups of Jews: Priests, Levites, and Israelites.” The plate also includes the zeroa, “which is not eaten during the Seder. It is typically a shank bone or a piece of roasted meat and symbolizes the Passover lamb sacrificed on the eve of the Exodus.”
During the Seder, Jews also eat Beitzah, a hard-boiled egg. It represents a pre-festival offering once brought in the days of the Temple. Maror and Chazeret are bitter herbs that symbolize the bitterness of slavery. “Freshly grated horseradish, lettuce, or endive are most commonly used,” adds Sr. Eliana. Charoset is a paste made from a mixture of apples, pears, nuts, dates, and wine. “It symbolizes the mortar and bricks made by the slaves for Pharaoh’s buildings,” the sister explains. Another element is karpas—a vegetable, usually parsley. “It symbolizes the hard labor endured by the Jews during their slavery in Egypt.”
“Each item on the plate carries a specific symbolic meaning and helps to tell the story of redemption from slavery through the senses of sight, taste, and touch,” Sr. Kurylo writes. She concludes: “Rabbi Nachman often reminded us that the Exodus from Egypt takes place in every person, in every generation, in every year, and even every day. The experience of the Seder meal makes this truth very real and helps us remember—every day, especiallyally during Pesach—that God can lead us out of any kind of bondage into freedom.”
Heschel Center, Catholic University of Lublin
Below is the full text of the commenyary:
Passover – discovering how the Passover meal is a concrete experience of the story of redemption through the senses of sight, taste, and feeling.
Passover, or Pesach (PEH-sach) in Hebrew is a feast that commemorates the slavery of the Israelites in Egypt and their ultimate exodus to freedom. This story has shaped Jewish consciousness and values is just as relevant today for all humankind. It is worth noting that Passover is the oldest, continually celebrated Jewish festival.
The primary ritual of Passover is the seder, which means “order”. It is an evening meal that involves eating an several symbolic foods, including matzah, bitter herbs (maror), parsley (karpas) dipped in saltwater and a sweet paste called haroset. The seder’s rituals and liturgy are laid out in the Haggadah, a book with prayers and questions. The purpose of this meal is to relive the experience of the Exodus from Egypt, to pass down the communal memory of the foundational Jewish story, and to reflect on the theme of being freed from the Egyptian slavery to freedom.
The Passover Seder Plate traditionally has five or six items which each represent a part or multiple parts of the Passover story.
Matzah - this is unleavened flatbread. On the Seder Plate, three are placed on top of each other on a plate or napkin and then covered. They represent three groups of Jews: Priests, Levites and Israelites.
The Zeroa - more commonly known as a shank bone, this is a piece of roasted meat which represents the lamb that was the special paschal sacrifice on the eve of exodus from Egypt. The Zeroa isn’t eaten at the Seder.
Beitzah - is a hard-boiled egg which represents the pre-holiday offering that was brought in the days of the Holy Temple.
Maror and Hazeret - this is a number of bitter herbs which symbolise the bitterness of slavery. Freshly grated horseradish, lettuce and endives are most commonly used.
Haroset - is a paste which is made from a mixture of apples, pears, nuts, dates and wine. It represents the mortar and brick made for Pharaoh’s monuments by slaves.
Karpas - this is a vegetable, usually parsley, which represents the backbreaking work of Jews when they were enslaved in Egypt.
As you see every piece of food on the plate has its own individual symbolic meaning and it helps to tell the redemption from slavery through the senses of sight, taste, and feeling. Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav said that the Exodus from Egypt occurs in every human being, in every era, in every year, and even every day. Experiencing the Seder meal makes this point very real and helps to remember every day but especially during the time of Passover/ Pessah that with God we can be freed from any type of slavery to freedom.