The Seder Table and Seder Plate

These halachos of the Seder Table and Seder Plate, are based on the rulings of the Mishna Berura, reflecting Ashkenazi practice.

Setting the Table

• Before Yom Tov: One should ensure that the seder table is set up before Yom Tov comes in (unless Yom Tov falls immediately after Shabbos, when one may not make preparations on Shabbos for after Shabbos) so one can commence the seder immediately at nightfall
  • A prompt start is important to ensure both that Kiddush is said at the start of the day (as one should in general endeavour to do on Shabbos and Yom Tov) and so that where children are present, proceedings start as early as possible so they remain awake. (SA 472:1, MB 1, 4)
• Nice Crockery: When setting the table one should use nice cutlery, crockery etc according to one’s means as a display of freedom. One should set things up in a way where one will be able to lean at the required points.  (SA 472:2).

The Seder Plate

• Components: The seder plate, which is placed in front of the one leading the seder, consists of 3 matzos (two whole ones for lechem Mishna and a third to split in two at Yachatz), the vegetable used for karpas, salt water/vinegar (used for dipping the vegetable at Karpas; some opinions seem to prefer having a second allocation of marror rather than using the salt water), maror, charoses and two cooked foods (SA 473:4, MB 17-18).
  • We explore the individual items on the Seder Plate in more detail below
• Formation: There are various customs as to the exact formation of the items on the plate (see separately below re matzos); the Rema advocates a setup whereby the items closest to the one leading the Seder  are those used earliest in the seder (thus the karpas is closest to him), such that he does not need to ‘pass over’ the other mitzvos to access the items behind to use first (SA 473:4, MB 27l Dirshu 39).
• Placement of Matzos: the matzos are wrapped in a cloth and some place a layer of fabric in between each matza. There varying practices as to where to place the matzos relative to the other items. Some place the matzos underneath, and order the other items on top, whilst others place them above the other items and  others put them to the side of the main plate.  (PT 473:11, 13)

• Matzos in front of each participant: as nowadays our matzos are very thin, if there are several participants at the Seder, the three matzos placed before the leader of the Seder are not sufficiently large for each person to be given a kezayis from them. Therefore, some have the practice to give each participant (or every 2 or 3 participants, so long as each matza is large enough to contain a kezayis for each participant) 3 of their own matzos so that they can eat the necessary kezeysim from these matzos.
  • However, others suffice with having three matzos in front of the leader of the Seder, who then distributes a little from these matzos to the participants after making the brachos, and the participants then take extra matza from the box to make up the rest of the quantity that they need to eat (see our section on ‘Motzi Matza for more details about the quantity of matza to eat etc’) (SSK 55:5, Dirshu 475:8).

The Vegetable for Karpas

• Any vegetable whose bracha is ha’adama can be used for the dipping at ‘Karpas’ (vegetables which aren’t commonly eaten raw may have a bracha of Shehakol rather than Ha’adama so such vegetables should be cooked before being used). However, the vegetable specifically known as ‘Karpas’ was chosen to ideally be used, given the symbolism of its name כרפס , which is an anagram of ס’ פרך, hinting at the 600,000 Jews (60 myriadס’ רבוא – ) who performed backbreaking labour (פרך). Some identified Karpas as parsley, whilst others identified it as celery.
  • For a number of reasons, including concerns about bug-infestation, a broad variety of customs have developed about what vegetable to use at this stage in the Seder and as mentioned above, any vegetable is valid for this purpose so long as its bracha is Borei Pri Ha’adama.
• One should avoid using a vegetable which can be used for Maror (eg lettuce).
• Whichever vegetable one uses, one should ensure that it is bug-free (eg using vegetables which do not require checking given infrequent infestation, or checking the vegetable carefully using guidelines from your Kashrus authority, or using vegetables certified as bug-free by a reliable Hechsher) (SA 473:4, MB 19-20, PT 13, Dirshu 30)

Preparing the Salt Water

• If Seder night falls on Shabbos, one should ideally ensure to prepare the salt water before Shabbos. If one did not do so, one may prepare a small quantity of salt water as needed for Seder night, ensuring that the water makes up more than one third of the total mixture (it is forbidden to make a solution which is 66% or more salt; such a solution would anyway be far too salty to use!) (MB 473:21, PT 14, SA 321:2, MB 9)

Matzah

• Five Grains: on Seder night one should ideally use Matzah made from wheat.  this is If not feasible, eg for health reasons, matzah made from the other 5 grains (barley, rye, oats, spelt) is valid for the mitzvah, though one should consult a Rav for guidance given debate in the poskim about how to make these matzos in a way which ensures they are chametz-free (SA 453:1, PT 1, Dirshu 2)
• Shemura Matzah: The matza must be made from grain which wasguarded from coming into contact with water and were made for the sake of the Mitzvah; these matzos are known as ‘shemura matzos’. The halachos of how to bake Matzah are beyond the scope of our discussion (SA 460:1, MB 3, MB 451:21-22)
• Machine Matzos: In recent generations there has been significant debate about the validity of machine matzos for use on Seder in relation to the requirement to make the Matzah for the sake of a Mitzvah (which some argued cannot be achieved when a  machine is baking the matzah, whilst others argued it is sufficient for the one turning the machine on to say ‘Leshem Matzas Mitzvah’.
  • There was also initially significant debate about whether such matzos could become chametz given difficulty cleaning the machines etc, though in contemporary factories with advanced production processes this concern has been resolved).
  • Consult your Rav for guidance (see PT 460:1).

Maror

• Identity of Maror: Chazal list 5 vegetables which may be used as Maror. We are uncertain as to the definition of all of these vegetables, though are aware of two of these – lettuce (some identify this specifically as Romaine lettuce, whilst others also permit iceberg lettuce) and horseradish (chrein). One can fulfil the Mitzvah by eating from the stalk, whether moist or dry, or the leaf, when moist, but not the roots (SA 473:5, MB 34 (re lettuce type – see Halachos of Pesach – Rav Ribiat – p475))
• Lettuce preferable: Lettuce is considered the optimal vegetable to use for Maror, as its characteristic of being sweet when it starts growing but ultimately becoming bitter the longer it stays in the ground mirrors the slavery in Egypt which initially started gently and became increasingly hard. In line with the general principle of ‘hiddur mitzvah’, one should go to extra expense (up to one third more) to obtain lettuce.
  • Bugs: However, lettuce is a species of vegetable which can commonly be infested with bugs, such that one should only use it for Maror if one is able to thoroughly check it to ensure it is bug-free or buy a brand of lettuce which is certified as bug free by a reliable kashrus authority. If one is unable to do so, one should instead use horseradish for Maror (MB 473:42, PT 18)

• Combining types: The different types of vegetables above combine together to the quantity of a kezayis that one must eat for Maror. As such, some have the practice to eat both horseradish and lettuce together for Maror  (SA 473:5, MB 36, Dirshu 47, PT 18, fn102)
• Grated horseradish: the poskim cautioned against eating horseradish in its whole form – due to its very sharp taste it is inedible and bordering on dangerous to eat; rather it should be grated enough in advance that its sharpness somewhat subsides, though not to the point where it dissipates entirely. It is advisable to grate it before Yom Tov and keep it covered; note that on Shabbos it is forbidden to grate horseradish (due to the melacha of ‘tochen’, grinding) (MB 473:36, PT 16).
• Processed Marror: one may not use Maror which has been cooked as cooking causes it to lose its taste. One may similarly not use maror which has been pickled in vinegar (so commercial or homemade horseradish products containing vinegar may not be used) nor maror soaked in water for 24 hours (after the fact if one has no other maror available, one can use horseradish [but not lettuce] which was soaked in water for 24 hours as it still retains bitterness) (SA 473:5, MB 38-39, HoP (Ribiat) p477).

Charoses

• Ingedients: The Charoses is made from fruits which are used to symbolise the Jewish people in Shir Hashirim, such as apples, figs, nuts and pomegranates (care must be taken to ensure that any fruits used are clean of bugs; figs in particular need careful checking), mixed with fibrous spices such as cinnamon or ginger and a little wine or red wine vinegar.
• Thick: It should be made thick, to represent the clay Bnei Yisrael used when building in Egypt.
• Fibrous spices are used as the long fibers symbolise the straw Bnei Yisrael used when building. For this reason some say one shouldn’t use ground spices (or blend the charoses after adding it) but rather one should grate eg the cinnamon bark to give somewhat lengthy stringy pieces and to mix this in to the charoses.
• Wine or Vinegar: The wine or red wine vinegar is added to represent blood (SA 473:5, SHT 68, PT 21).
• Making the charoses: ideally the charoses should be made before Yom Tov. If one didn’t do so, one may make it on Yom Tov, though if grating or crushing the ingredients this should be done with somewhat of a ‘shinuy’, a change in the normal way, such as grating it over a table rather than into a container. If Seder night falls on Shabbos one should certainly ensure to make the charoses beforehand, given the restrictions of ‘lisha’, making a thin or thick mixture (MB 473:47-48, 504:11, 19).

The Two Cooked Foods

• The two foods used remind us of the korban Pesach and korban Chagiga that used to be eaten on seder night.
• Bone and Egg: The practice is to use a roasted shank bone – in Hebrew a ‘zroa’ – to remind us of the ‘zroa netuya’, Hashem’s outstretched arm over Egypt (some use a chicken leg or chicken wing; if one cannot obtain these one may just use another piece of meat) and a boiled or roasted egg (according to some as a sign of mourning over us not having the Beis Hamikdash) to represent these (SA 473:4, MB 27)
• Eating them: The zroa may not be eaten during the Seder as one may not eat roasted meat on Seder night, though one should eat it the daytime rather than throw it away. The egg ideally should be eaten at the meal on Seder night (SA 473:4, MB 27, 32, PT 12, MB 476:11).