Marror: Out of Order?

Hi,

Marror is in an odd position in the seder. Marror is meant to represent the slavery of the Jews in Egypt, and Matzah is meant to represent redemption, but their order is reversed; we eat Matzah before we eat Marror!

One could contend that Matzah also represents bread of affliction and poverty, but Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook offered a different explanation: Marror indeed represents the bitterness of slavery, but one can only appreciate the value of that experience, and the purpose it served, from the hindsight perspective of the Jew who has already been redeemed from Egypt. Therefore, we first go through redemption, eating Matzah, and then we contemplate the Marror of our previous experience.

חג כשר ושמח,
Mordechai

Marror and Horseradish

Hi,

Historically, Jews have used various vegetables and herbs as marror, from Romaine lettuce and cardoon artichoke to chicory and horseradish. The Talmud (Mishnah Pesachim 2:6, discussed on Pesachim 39a) lists five potential species, the first of which is chazeret (lettuce) and the rest of which are subject to some debate.

It seems fairly clear that horseradish is not one of the five species listed in the mishnah, especially given the talmudic description of marror as an above-ground plant. How, then, did people begin to use horseradish?

We first find horseradish in use for marror in late-13th century Germany [although a century earlier it was an ingredient in German charoset!]. Some speculate that people first used the leaves as marror, and only began to eat the root because of a scarcity of leaves. Others note that 19th century authorities recommended the use of the root for those who had trouble checking lettuce leaves for bugs.

For more on this issue, see this excellent article by Dr. Arthur Schaffer, and the sources I cite on this page.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Marror and Matzah: Preparation and Action

Hi,

"Matzah is parallel to the goal of accepting the yoke of Divine monarchy…

"Marror is because they embittered the lives of our ancestors, parallel to the act of preparation, for the act of preparation which makes us ready for the higher sanctity which will be revealed upon us in the future comes because our spirits are prepared for it…

"Therefore we say, ‘Because of this,’ and not ‘Because of these,’ plural, for it demonstrates the unity of the preparation and the goal, the unity of day and night."

(Rav Kook, Haggadah shel Pesach)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Accepting Marror after Matzah

Hi,

"We must also accept the pleasant servitude, the service of HaShem, Gd of Israel, who formed us from the womb to be His servants. This trait was also acquired in our Egyptian servitude, and after all of the negative results of slavery leave us, this pleasant aspect will remain.

"Thereby a person will be able to lovingly endure even that which is against his will and inclination. This is the fundamental principle of Marror: To accept the bitterness of life with love, when one knows that he faces bitterness sent from above, and ethical elevation.

"Therefore, Marror follows Matzah."

(R' Avraham Yitzchak haKohen Kook, Haggadah shel Pesach)

Have a great day,
Mordechai