Those in Jewish tradition pride themselves on the Seder dinner, but there's more to it than just the food on the plate. Seder includes songs, discussions and storytelling.
"The Seder reminds us that freedom is not to be taken for granted," said Rabbi Levi Brackman of Judaism in the Foothills, which has locations in Golden/Lakewood and Evergreen. The Seder is to "appreciate and be thankful for the freedom that we have."
The Seder is one of the ways Passover is celebrated. Passover is an eight-day celebration of freedom that observes the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Passover falls in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. This year, it will take place April 22-30.
The Seder is also a time to educate younger generations. Teaching children at a young age is an important part of the Seder, said Rabbi Benjy Brackman, co-director of Chabad of NW Metro Denver in Westminster.
"There's a big focus on the children," he said. "We do all sorts of things for them."
The Seder is meant to be a sensory experience, Levi Brackman said. It is a way for each person to experience and reenact some of the hardships of slavery and the joy of liberation though the five senses.
One focal point of the Seder is reading from the Haggadah, which tells the story of the liberation of Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is in The Book of Exodus in The Hebrew Bible.
Items included on the Seder dinner plate also have significance.
People will always eat bitter herbs during the Seder. The bitter herbs "remind us of the slavery and the bitter times," said Benjy Brackman.
Most commonly, horseradish is used and it is supplemented with a green vegetable, usually lettuce.
Another important food item is matzah, which is unleavened bread. Loosely translated, Levi Brackman said, it means bread of affliction.
"It's not the bread of people with time and leisure," he said.
The Israelites left Egypt in haste, he said, so they didn't have time to let their bread rise. In fact, he added, the bread baked in their knapsacks.
"The food on the Seder plate makes it a very hands-on way of storytelling," Benjy Brackman said. "The Seder itself was hands-on even before hands-on was a thing."
On the Seder plate will be two items that represent offerings --; a shank bone and an egg.
The shank bone symbolizes the paschal lamb, which was the special paschal sacrifice on the eve of the exodus from Egypt. In ancient times, the sacrifice was tradition for Passover, however, modern-day Jews no longer do sacrifices, and the bone is usually one of a chicken, Levi Brackman said.
The second holiday offering is symbolized by a hard-boiled egg. The saltwater, which accompanies the egg during the meal, represents the tears the Jewish people wept, Benjy Brackman said.
Another food on the Seder plate is haroset.
"Everybody likes haroset," Brackman said. It is a mixture of ground apples, pears, nuts and wine. Haroset, he said, is supposed to represent the cement, or mortar, that Jewish slaves used when forced to build for the Egyptians.
During the course of the Seder, people will drink four glasses of red wine or juice, Levi Brackman said. The wine symbolizes freedom, and the four glasses represent the four expressions of redemption that the Torah --; Judaism's most important text --; uses to describe the Exodus.
The Seder is a tradition that has continued for more than 3,000 years. It is probably the most celebrated Jewish holiday, still today, Benjy Brackman said. But it's not only Jews who have interest in the Seder. It's a unique holiday, and encouraging to many people, he said.
"Freedom is at the heart of America," Benjy Brackman said. "It's a holiday that all Americans can relate to. Freedom resonates in this culture."
Here, everybody has the opportunity to celebrate their religion and be proud of it, he added.
"We live in a free society," Levi Brackman said. "The Seder reminds us that freedom is not to be taken for granted."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://goldentranscript.net/stories/The-symbolism-of-the-Seder,210720?branding=15
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