A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach Page: 11 of 24
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SETTING THE SEDER TABLE
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Prepare the salt water to dip the Karpas (5).
ANOTHER INTERPRETATION OF THE BETZAH
PREPARING THE HOME FOR PESACH
Three matzoh, especially baked for die seder use, are set before the head of the house and
covered with a cloth. On a tray (Seder Plate) are set these things:
On the seder plate we have a Betzah or hard-boiled, roasted egg. The rabbis explain that this
is also symbolic of the Jewish people. Almost everything that is cooked gets softer and softer
the longer it is cooked except for an egg. An egg, the longer you cook it, the harder it gets.
This, the rabbis say, is similar to the Jewish people. The more we were persecuted, the
stronger we got. In Egypt other peoples disappeared, but the Egyptian experience made us
stronger. So it is with the Jewish people throughout the ages. No power can destroy us.
Only we can do that. An egg, when it has not been cooked, is fragile and must be dealt with
with great care, otherwise it will shatter. We Jews, too, when we are not under pressure,
must deal with our traditions with respect and handle them with loving care, otherwise what
our enemies cannot accomplish, we can do to ourselves.
Everyone is to drink four cups of wine at the seder, for the four Divine promises of freedom.
A special cup is filled for Elijah, the Prophet, who is the symbol of peace and freedom which
will one day reign in the world and who will one day herald the Messiah.
Z’roah: the roasted shankbone of a lamb or a chicken neck, symbol for the roasted
paschal lamb of Temple days.
Betzah: a hard-boiled and roasted egg, to symbolize the additional festival offerings
in olden Temple days, and the strength of the Jewish people.
Maror: bitter herbs - horseradish or romaine lettuce, to denote the Hebrews’ bitter
suffering in Egypt.
Haroset: chopped apple and nuts with cinnamon and wine, to denote the clay with which
the Hebrews worked.
Karpas: parsnips, celery or any vegetable to be dipped in salt water and eaten
reclining at east, symbol of the tears and light food we had in Egypt.
Hazeret: ground horseradish or romaine lettuce, eaten later in a sandwich with
matzoh.
ROOMS: The entire house—all rooms, closets, drawers, etc., must be thoroughly cleaned.
KITCHEN: Chometz dishes and kitchen utensils must be washed and cleaned and stored
away in such a manner that they cannot accidentally be used on Pesach. Tables,
cupboards, closet shelves, cabinets, sinks, walls, stoves, etc. must be scoured
and washed. All surfaces used for chometz dishes or food throughout the year
must be covered for Pesach use or kashered with boiling water.
STOVES & OVENS: Stoves and ovens must be thoroughly scraped and cleaned. The oven
and range must then be heated to their maximum temperature for a half hour.
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United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston. A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach, pamphlet, Date Unknown; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1417199/m1/11/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.