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As Passover begins April 12, Jewish families will gather for Seder meals where food becomes narrative. The ritual meal progresses from the symbolism of hardship to celebration, commemorating the ancient Israelites' journey from bondage in Egypt to freedom.
The Jewish celebration of Passover offers a meaningful celebration of food as a vehicle for cultural memory, spiritual connection, and communal storytelling. As Passover approaches, beginning April 12, the ritual Seder meal brings families and communities together around tables set with symbolic foods that tell an ancient story.
“Passover is a recognition and a celebration of and hope for liberation through ritualized time together and eating,” said Caitlin Roberts, first vice president of Temple Beth Israel in Eugene. Roberts is one of about 6,000 Jews in Lane County, according to a 2022-23 study.
The Passover story recalls the ancient Israelites’ journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom, as told in the Torah. According to Roberts, the tradition isn’t just about remembering historical events.
“We’re not just remembering that our ancestors did this,” she said. “We are having those same experiences and building those same sense memories.”
This sensory connection happens through a carefully constructed meal called a Seder, held on the first two nights of Passover (or just the first night for some). Seder means “steps” or “order” in Hebrew. The meal follows a specific sequence outlined in a book called the Haggadah, with various foods representing different aspects of the Exodus story.
Symbolic foods tell the Exodus story
The ritual begins with hand washing followed by dipping parsley in salt water, representing the tears of enslavement. Other symbolic foods include bitter horseradish, representing the bitterness of slavery; a mixture of apples, nuts, and honey (called charoset) symbolizing the mortar used by enslaved Israelites to build Egyptian structures; a roasted or boiled egg representing offerings made at the ancient temple; and a lamb bone symbolizing the sacrifice that led to the Israelites being “passed over” during the final plague. After the Seder, a meal featuring brisket is common.
Throughout the meal, adult participants drink four cups of wine, each representing a different aspect of liberation, while children often get grape juice. Before beginning the meal, three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread, also spelled matzo) are prepared, with the middle one broken in half and hidden. After dinner, the kids find the hidden matzah, usually resulting in a small reward. The hidden piece of matzah, called afikomen, serves as dessert and the ending to the ritual meal.
“You acknowledge at the beginning that there will be hard stuff to get through, and at the end, we’ll have this moment of dessert, with joy and liberation, and freedom,” Roberts said.
The dietary restrictions during Passover are significant.
Observant Jews avoid leavened bread products during the eight-day festival, commemorating how the Israelites fled Egypt so quickly their bread didn’t have time to rise.
“In order for matzah to be kosher, it has to go from raw ingredients to finished matzah in 18 minutes or less,” Roberts said.
Making ancient rituals contemporary
Different Jewish traditions have varying approaches to Passover foods.
Roberts explained that Ashkenazi Jews (from Eastern European traditions) and Sephardic Jews (from Spain, Morocco, and Turkey) follow different rules about what can be eaten during the holiday.
At Temple Beth Israel, a Reconstructionist congregation where Roberts and her family worship, there is flexibility in observance, following what she described as the principle that “the past gets a vote, not a veto.”
Themes of rebirth and liberation
For Roberts’ interfaith family (her husband, John Roberts, is Christian), Easter is another spring celebration centered around food. While she prepares her grandmother’s brisket recipe during Passover, her family also celebrates Easter with a lamb dinner at her mother-in-law’s house.
“I see these as celebrations of spring and rebirth, going from something that is dark and hard and wintery into new life, liberation, and freedom,” Roberts said.
As communities gather for Passover this year, many will continue modifying ancient traditions to speak to contemporary concerns.
Some Seder plates will include an orange, which Roberts explained originated from a story about an old rabbi who supposedly said, “There will be oranges on the Seder plate before there are women rabbis.” The orange became a symbol for inclusion and gender equality.
Similarly, some families now include a beet rather than a bone to accommodate vegetarian participants, demonstrating that food traditions can evolve but still maintain their symbolic power.
“As humans, we need food to survive,” Roberts said. “But also it becomes such a rich storytelling device. We’re telling this part of sadness, so we’re eating the bitter horseradish, and we’re drinking tears, and all that sort of stuff. Then we keep working through it, and we get to this festive mood of us all together, which isn’t the end, right? That’s just partway through. And then we come back to finish the rest of the story.”
Charoset (Ashkenazi version)
Recipe courtesy of Caitlin Roberts
2 Granny Smith apples (no need to peel, but you can)
1 cup walnuts, chopped or quickly blitzed in a food processor
2 tablespoons of grape juice or sweet wine
1 tablespoon of honey, or more to taste
1 teaspoon of cinnamon, or more to taste
Shred or rough chop the apples and combine with all other ingredients.
Makes 4 cups.
