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The Passover Plate

The centerpiece of every Passover table tells a story of Exodus and rebirth.

By Emily Cowan April 20, 2016
Did you know that eggs aren't just for Easter? In the Jewish tradition, a hard-boiled egg is one of six key components of the Seder Plate - the centerpiece of Passover's ceremonial meal. The Passover Seder is a time for Jews to retell the story of their Exodus from slavery in Egypt during the time of Moses. Here's a tour of the Passover Plate and each item's role in the story:

Horseradish and Romaine Lettuce. These bitter herbs represent the bitterness of life as a Jewish slave in Egypt.

Parsley
. Parsley (or sometimes boiled potato) is dipped in salt water and eaten as a symbol of the tears shed by Jewish slaves.

Charoset
. A salad of ground apples, nuts, and red wine, charoset stands for the bricks and mortar Jewish slaves used to build the pyramids of the Egyptian kings.

Roasted Bone
. This bone (frequently the bone of a lamb or chicken) represents the sacred burnt offering at the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. 

Egg
. A symbol of mourning, the hard-boiled egg represents the sorrow of the Temple's destruction.

On a separate plate are stacked three pieces of matzoh, representing the bread that did not have time to rise as the Jews fled Egypt. The middle piece is broken in two and one half is hidden for the children of the house to find toward the end of the meal. The Seder cannot conclude without it, so kids are often in a position to bargain for an extra treat before they agree to give it back!