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THIS PESACH LOOK BEYOND THE OBVIOUS
What exactly is the egg doing on the Seder plate? The
roasted orb has
been a guest of honor for generations, and hardly a word has been spoken
in its direction. The matzah, the shank bone, the bitter herbs - they
generate the buzz year after year. But do you have any idea what you
would say about the egg?
Sometimes you can find out more about life by looking in obscure and
ignored places. So here are some of the things we've heard about the
neglected egg:
"The egg is a symbol of life."
"The egg is like the Jews - the more time they spend in oppressive heat,
the tougher they get."
"The egg is symbolic of the Temple sacrifice."
"The egg reminds us that God has no beginning and no end."
"The egg is the food of mourning."
"The egg is a symbol of springtime and rebirth."
Where do these explanations come from? It may come as a shock that none
of these explanations of the egg appears in either the Bible or the
Talmud. In fact, the only mention we have from ancient sources is from a
rather creative word play. In Aramaic, the language of the Talmud, the
word for "egg," beya, is the same word as the word for "please." In the
Jerusalem Talmud, there is a suggestion that on Pesach the egg be
presented together with the shoulder bone, suggesting: "Please, God, lift
us up from slavery!"
What this tells us is that all the explanations listed are relatively new.
As Jews in Calcutta, Crakow, Chadera, Caracas, and Cleveland have placed
eggs on their Seder plates, they've creatively interpreted the meaning of
these ovular delicacies. As a result, it has become deeply traditional to
create new meanings for the foods eaten on Pesach night.
STEP ONE
Ask the people at your Seder table to think for a moment about eggs. As
you point to the egg, or pass it around, ask your guests to connect their
thoughts on eggs to the Passover story.
Things they might say:
"Peeling an egg is done to free the egg from its shell - but this peeling
is a difficult task, just like the peeling away of the slavery mentality
of our ancestors."
or
"An egg, due to its shape, cannot stand without help. From this we learn
that our ancestors needed help to stand up against Pharaoh."
They might speak of the egg itself or, for
example, they might pair the egg with matzah or with the parsley and speak
about how these foods are connected.
Originally distributed by CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and
Leadership www.clal.org
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