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Prohibition Against Using Horseradish
for the Bitter Herb at the Passover Seder
Every Jewish holiday comes complete with its own unique celebration.
The focal point of Passover is the festival meal called the Seder. This is a special meal complete with traditional dishes that symbolize everything from the emergence of springtime to the sadness that was part of our ancestors' lives as slaves in Egypt. Two of the dishes that make up the traditional Seder plate are the maror and charoset. Maror is the Hebrew word for "bitter" as a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. Traditionally horseradish is used as moror. Charoset is a dish made of dried fruits and nuts mixed with wine. It symbolizes the mud our ancestors used in the making of bricks.
Our teachers of old specify a number of different herbs that can be used for moror. The one thing they say should not be used is horseradish.
They point out that it has a hot taste not a spicy one. And, they actually call horseradish a danger to one's health. Despite their teachings, we use horseradish. Why?
The answer is found in the climate of Eastern Europe where the tradition of using horseradish originated.
Our rabbis of old lived in Israel or Babylon with climates that were Mediterranean in character. Come Pesach and spring had already sprung. In Eastern Europe, as in Canada and the northern half of the United States, Passover comes at the very beginning of spring. Evening temperatures may still be below freezing. The simple fact is that our European ancestor did not have the advantage of refrigerated trucks to haul Romaine lettuce to them.
The beauty of the horseradish plant is that its root system remains completely fresh and potent throughout the year.
All our ancestors had to do was brush off the snow cover, dig into the earth and take a hunk of root.
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