Seder Plate

People have celebrated Rosh Hashanah with a festive gathering since Talmudic times. Weaving together symbolic foods with the familiar structure of a seder helps us start the new year mindfully. 

During this brief seder, we’ll make four toasts together and find opportunities for blessing and reflection. Each toast is centered on a way of understanding Rosh Hashanah - as a day of reawakening, of judgment, of remembrance and of recreation. The choice of beverage is up to you!

We have now told the story of Passover. Before we drink the second cup, we pause to name what is in front of us. 

The Seder Plate

At the center of our table sits the Seder plate — a map of the Exodus story told through food. 

Zeroa — the shank bone

A roasted bone, representing the lamb that Israelite families sacrificed on the night before they left Egypt. Its blood marked their doorposts, and they were passed over. 

Beitzah — the roasted egg

A hard-boiled egg, roasted until its shell is marked. The egg represents the festival sacrifice brought to the Temple, and the cycle of life.

Maror — bitter herbs

Usually horseradish. We eat it to feel, even briefly, the bitterness of slavery. 

Charoset — the sweet paste

A mixture of apples, nuts, and wine, sweet and dark. It represents the mortar the Israelite slaves used to build Pharaoh's cities. 

Karpas — parsley

Fresh green herbs, representing spring and the promise of new life. 

Chazeret — romaine lettuce

A second bitter herb.

We have now told the story of Passover. Before we drink the second cup, we pause to name what is in front of us. 

The Seder Plate

At the center of our table sits the Seder plate — a map of the Exodus story told through food. 

Zeroa — the shank bone

A roasted bone, representing the lamb that Israelite families sacrificed on the night before they left Egypt. Its blood marked their doorposts, and they were passed over. 

Beitzah — the roasted egg

A hard-boiled egg, roasted until its shell is marked. The egg represents the festival sacrifice brought to the Temple, and the cycle of life.

Maror — bitter herbs

Usually horseradish. We eat it to feel, even briefly, the bitterness of slavery. 

Charoset — the sweet paste

A mixture of apples, nuts, and wine, sweet and dark. It represents the mortar the Israelite slaves used to build Pharaoh's cities. 

Karpas — parsley

Fresh green herbs, representing spring and the promise of new life. 

Chazeret — romaine lettuce

A second bitter herb.

by Sheikha Ibtisam Mahameed and Rabba Tamar Elad-Appelbaum

This invocation, written by two mothers, one Muslim and one Jewish, invites us to take their plea for peace into our hearts and into the world. It has been shared widely by Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie and the Lab/Shul community.

Let us Light Candles for Peace

Two mothers, one plea:

Now, more than ever, during these days of so much crying,on the day that is sacred to both our religions, Friday, Sabbath Eve

Let us light a candle in every home – for peace:

A candle to illuminate our future, face to face,

A candle across borders, beyond fear.

From our family homes and houses of worship

Let us light each other up,

Let these candles be a lighthouse to our spirit

Until we all arrive at the sanctuary of peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We pray for peace,

For ourselves and the world,

Even if only for one day:

Instead of anger, we choose kindness.

Instead of revenge, we choose justice.

Instead of resentment, we choose empathy.

Instead of work, we choose rest.

Instead of ideology, we choose compromise.

Instead of destruction, we choose community.

Instead of fear, we choose endurance.

Instead of invective, we choose prayer.

Instead of violence, we choose peace.

Blessed Yah, Creator, Created, Creating...

We give thanks for this day of peace.

May it change us, may it change the world,

And let us say, Amen.