Maror

Food

Maror refers to the bitter herbs — usually horseradish or romaine lettuce — eaten by Jews on Passover as commanded in the Bible: “with bitter herbs they shall eat it” (Exodus 12:8). Maror symbolizes and serves as a reminder of the bitterness of slavery and oppression in Egypt.

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The Healing Bitterness of Maror

COMMENTARY

Maror, the bitter herb, symbolizes not only the bitterness of slavery but also serves as a means of atonement and healing from physical desires. Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger, in his commentary on the Passover Haggadah, elucidates the dual significance of maror, likening it to bitter medicine that transforms illness into a remedy.

• Maror which is connected to the verse that states that the Egyptians embittered their lives, was meant to atone and heal them from the desires of the body, just as the sick needs medicine and methods of healing that are sometimes bitter but have the ability to change illness into a remedy.

Minchat Ani on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 6:1

Hillel's Passover Sandwich

TALMUD

Hillel the Elder's practice of eating the Paschal offering, matza, and bitter herbs together provides profound insight into the consumption of these elements during Passover. The Talmud records Hillel’s interpretation of the verse 'They shall eat it with matzot and bitter herbs' (Numbers 9:11), demonstrating that the taste of the bitter herbs does not nullify the taste of the matza.

The Gemara adds: Whom did you hear who says that items used in the performance of mitzvot do not nullify one another? It is Hillel, as it is taught in a baraita: They said about Hillel the Elder that when eating the Paschal offering, matza, and bitter herbs on the first night of Passover, he would wrap them all at once and eat them together, because it is stated with regard to the Paschal offering: “They shall eat it with matzot and bitter herbs” (Numbers 9:11), which indicates that these three foods should be eaten together…

Zevachim 79a:6

The Hillel Sandwich

HALAKHAH

The practice of eating matza and maror together during the Passover Seder reflects an unresolved debate in Jewish tradition. Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s contemporary work discusses the dual practice of eating matza and maror separately and together, as commemorated by the 'Hillel sandwich.'

According to Hillel the Elder, in Temple times the mitzva was fulfilled by eating matza and maror together, as it is stated: “They shall eat it with matzot and merorim” (Bamidbar 9:11). According to the other Sages, people would eat the matza and maror separately. Since no final decision was reached regarding this matter, we follow both practices.

Peninei Halakhah, Pesach 16:28:3

The Spiritual Purpose of Redemption

COMMENTARY

The primary reason for the redemption from Egypt was to make the Israelites servants of God, not merely to save them from their suffering. Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum’s commentary on the Pesach Haggadah, Maaseh Nissim, explores the symbolic order of Pesach, Matzah, and Maror, emphasizing the spiritual purpose of the Exodus.

Why do we eat this Maror? If Maror was a symbol of slavery, why don’t we mention it first before the two symbols of redemption? It should have been Maror, Pesach and then Matzah. The essential reason we were redeemed from Egypt was not to save us from the bitterness of slavery but to make us servants of the God. The Haggadah mentions redemption before the bitterness in order to emphasize that bitterness was only a secondary reason God took us out of Egypt. The main reason God took us out of Egypt was to bring us to Mount Sinai…

Maaseh Nissim on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 6:1

The Sweetness in Bitterness

COMMENTARY

The bitterness of maror is not just a reminder of suffering but also a recognition that this suffering led to a greater blessing. Rabbi Yerachmiel Yisrael Danziger, in his spiritual work Yismach Yisrael, explains how the bitter experiences of slavery ultimately hastened the redemption and brought the Israelites closer to the Divine Presence.

“Why do we eat this maror?” In order that you may remember the day of your going forth from Egypt all the days of your life .” There is a parable in the Midrash that goes as follows: A certain princess wished to marry a king but in the course of reaching king she had to pass through many troubles and problems. When he finally reached her, the king said, “My daughter I ask you not to remember all the exile that you underwent before entering our marital huppah.” This parable is troubling because it is not comparable to the verse which says…

Yismach Yisrael on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 6:1

The Order of Pesach, Matzah, and Maror

COMMENTARY

The sequence of Pesach, matzah, and maror in the Seder highlights the miraculous redemption of the Israelites, with matzah and the Passover offering being central to the celebration. Rabban Gamliel's explanation in the Pesach Haggadah emphasizes the significance of these symbols in commemorating the Israelites' exodus from Egypt.

Pesach, matzah, and maror: Why are they included in this order? Shouldn’t the bitter herbs have been mentioned first since the people’s lives were made bitter before they consumed the unleavened bread and the Passover offering? Rabban Gamliel’s order follows scripture: “They shall consume the flesh on this night along with matzah and bitter herbs.” Also the first two are the essential foods we eat on this night since they point to the miraculous redemption of the Israelites more so than the bitter herbs. The matzah and the Passover offering are also obligatory unlike the bitter herbs…

Kos Eliyahu on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 1:2

The Remnants of Matzoh and Maror

MIDRASH

The remnants mentioned in Exodus 12:34 are interpreted as referring specifically to matzoh and maror, highlighting their importance in the Passover Seder. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, a halachic midrash on Exodus, discusses the significance of matzoh and maror remnants during the Passover Seder.

(Exodus 12:34) "their remnants": of matzoh and maror. You say this, but perhaps (the reference is to) remnants of the Paschal lamb? (Ibid. 10) "And you shall not leave over anything of it (the Paschal lamb)" already accounts for the Paschal lamb. How, then, am I to understand "their remnants bound up in their clothes"? As referring to the remnants of matzoh and maror.

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 13:29

What Counts as Maror?

TOSEFTA

The rabbis in the Tosefta present diverse opinions on the fulfillment of the obligation to eat bitter herbs (Maror) during Passover. Compiled in the late second century, the Tosefta documents a debate among rabbis regarding which types of bitter herbs are acceptable for the Passover Seder.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Beteira says, they fulfill [the obligation of eating bitter herbs] with lettuce (חזרת) and with mustard. Rabbi Yishmael bar Rabbi Yochanan ben Berokah says, one does not fulfill [the obligation] with anything that burns [the mouth]. Rabbi Yehuda says, anything that makes one pale fulfills it. They fulfill it either with wet or dry [bitter herbs]. Rabbi Meir says, [rather,] "they even fulfill it with dry [bitter herbs]." Rabbi Tzadok says, [rather,] "they even fulfill it with pickled [bitter herbs]."

Tosefta Pesachim 2:14

The Requirements for Passover Greens

TALMUD

The greens used for the mitzvah of maror must belong to a species eligible for purchase with second-tithe money and be suitable for human consumption. In tractate Pesachim, the Gemara discusses the specific requirements for these greens during Passover, drawing a parallel to the standards set for matza.

The Gemara asks a similar question: Perhaps I can say that one may use harzipu, a vegetable that poisons animals, as the bitter herb. The Gemara answers: It must be similar to matza; just as matza is prepared from plants that are fit for human consumption and can be purchased with second-tithe money, so too, bitter herbs must be from a species that can be purchased with second-tithe money.

Pesachim 39a:12

The Vegetables of Passover

MISHNAH

The Mishnah provides detailed guidelines on the types of vegetables that can be used during the Passover Seder, including maror, reflecting the flexibility and specificity in Jewish ritual practice. This early third-century text from the Mishnah, Pesachim 2:6, outlines the conditions and types of vegetables permissible for fulfilling the obligation of eating these key components of the Passover ritual.

And these are the vegetables with which a person can fulfill his obligation to eat bitter herbs on Passover: One can fulfill his obligation with ḥazeret, with chervil [tamkha], and with field eryngo [ḥarḥavina], and with endives [olashin], and with maror. One fulfills his obligation with them whether they are fresh or whether they are dry. However, one does not fulfill his obligation if they are pickled in water or vinegar…

Mishnah Pesachim 2:6

Continuity of Matzah and Maror

COMMENTARY

The mitzvah of eating matzah and maror is observed even outside the land of Israel and during times when the Temple no longer exists. Rabbi Naftali ben Shimon Hertz Ginzburg’s commentary on the Haggadah explores the continuity of this practice and its connection to the eventual return to the land of Israel.

Even so…enable us to reach this night when we eat matzah and maror; so may we reach in peace other holy days and festivals when we may rejoice in the restoration of Zion…and find delight in serving You: Talmud Kiddushin discusses when and for whom the mitzvah of eating matzah applies. We find two verses in the Torah: “You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread,” and “And so when the Lord has brought you to the land of the Canaanites…you shall observe this month the following practice…

Naftali Seva Ratzon on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Second Cup of Wine 2:2

Passover Plate, Sebald Ruprecht III, Augsburg (Germany) c. 1770-76, with later engraving

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