FOTL 2022 - Flipbook - Page 36
maror
Lift up the maror from the seder plate.
This bitter vegetable is called maror (mah-ROAR), which
means “something bitter.” Why is it on our seder table?
Maror has a sharp, harsh taste. Eating the maror is supposed
to sting our mouths a little. Maror’s harshness reminds us
how hard and painful it was being a slave in Egypt. It helps
us imagine soreness in our backs from lifting heavy bricks.
It reminds us of the pain in our hearts when we thought we
would never be free.
To understand how important freedom is, it is not enough for
us to talk about slavery. Tasting the maror, we make sure we
also feel at least a little bit of the slaves’ bitter pain. It helps us
remember that when we get the choice, we choose to go free!
These three symbolic foods – the lamb bone, the matzah,
and the maror – bring the feelings of the first Passover
night to our own seder table. In every generation, no
matter how long ago the first Passover night was, we try
to feel that we ourselves are going free right now.
44