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''Maror'' ( ''mārōr'') are the bitter
herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...
s eaten at the
Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...
in keeping with the
biblical commandment In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments ...
"with bitter herbs they shall eat it." (
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
12:8). The Maror is one of the symbolic foods placed on the
Passover Seder plate The Passover Seder plate (, ''ke'ara'') is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder. It is used to show all the symbolic foods that are used for the Passover Seder. Symbolic foods Each of the six items ...
.


Biblical source

In some listings of the
613 commandments According to Jewish tradition, the Torah contains 613 commandments (). Although the number 613 is mentioned in the Talmud, its real significance increased in later medieval rabbinic literature, including many works listing or arranged by the . Th ...
, such as the commentary of Joseph Babad on the ''
Sefer ha-Chinuch ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona". Content The work's enumeration of th ...
'', the biblical obligation to consume ''maror'' is included within the commandment to consume the meat of the sacrificial
Passover sacrifice The Passover sacrifice (), also known as the Paschal lamb or the Passover lamb, is the sacrifice that the Torah mandates the Israelites to ritually slaughter on the evening of Nisan 14, before Passover of Nisan 15, and eat lamb on the first night ...
.''Minchat Chinuch'' 6:14 ''u'v'mitzvah'' Ever since the Paschal offering ceased to exist with the destruction of the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...
in 70 CE, the obligation to consume ''maror'' on the first night of Passover has been rabbinical in nature. The only two biblical references to the ''maror'' are the verse quoted above (Exodus 12:8) and in Numbers 9:11: " ey are to eat the lamb, together with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs". This is in contradistinction to the obligation to consume
matzot Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (leaven and five grains deemed by Jewi ...
on the first night of Passover, which remains a biblical commandment even in the absence of the Passover lamb, because there are other biblical verses that mention matzot as a standalone obligation: Exodus 12:18 and Deuteronomy 16:8. The word derives from the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
word ( or , "bitter"), and so may be related to the English word
myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...
(through
Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...
, cognate with
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
).


Symbolism

According to the
Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...
, the traditional text which is recited at the Seder and which defines the Seder's form and customs, the ''maror'' symbolizes the bitterness of slavery in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. The following verse from the
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
underscores that symbolism: "And they embittered (''ve-yimareru'' וימררו) their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks and with all manner of labor in the field; any labor that they made them do was with hard labor" (
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...
1:14).


Use at the Seder

''Maror'' is one of the foods placed on the
Passover Seder Plate The Passover Seder plate (, ''ke'ara'') is a special plate containing symbolic foods eaten or displayed at the Passover Seder. It is used to show all the symbolic foods that are used for the Passover Seder. Symbolic foods Each of the six items ...
and there is a rabbinical requirement to eat ''maror'' at the Seder. ''Chazeret'' () is used for the requirement called ''Korech'', in which the ''maror'' is eaten together with ''
matzo Matzo is a spelling variant for matzah Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah ('','' : matzot or Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashk. matzos) is an Unleavened bread, unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover ...
''. There are various customs about the kinds of ''maror'' placed at each location. During the Seder, each participant recites a specific
blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...
over the ''maror'' and eats it. It is first dipped into the ''
charoset ''Charoset'' is a sweet, dark-colored mixture of finely chopped fruits and nuts eaten at the Passover Seder. According to the Talmud, its color and texture are meant to recall mortar (or mud used to make adobe bricks), which the Israelites ...
''— a brown, pebbly mixture which symbolizes the mortar with which the
Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
s bound bricks for the Egyptians. The excess ''charoset'' is then shaken off and the ''maror'' is eaten. The ''
halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...
'' (Jewish law) prescribes the minimum amount of ''maror'' that should be eaten to fulfil the ''
mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew language, Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment Divine law, from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of disc ...
'' (a ''kazayis'' or '' kezayit'', literally meaning the volume of an
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
) and the amount of time in which it should be consumed. To fulfil the obligation, the flavour of the ''maror'' must be unadulterated by cooking or preservatives, such as being soaked in vinegar.


Types of maror

The
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
specifies five types of bitter herbs eaten on the night of Passover: ''ḥazzeret'' (
lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...
), ''ʿuleshīn'' (
endive Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus ''Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include ''Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), ''Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Cicho ...
/
chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...
), ''temakha'', ''ḥarḥavina'' (possibly
melilot ''Melilotus'', known as melilot or sweet clover is a genus of legumes in the family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Asia, and Africa. The genus is closely related to ''Trifolium'' (clovers). Several species are common grassland plants and weeds of ...
, or '' Eryngium creticum''), and ''maror'' (likely ''
Sonchus oleraceus ''Sonchus oleraceus'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native species, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annu ...
'', sowthistle). The most common vegetables currently used as bitter herbs are
horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...
and
romaine lettuce Romaine or cos lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'' L. var. ''longifolia'') is a variety of lettuce that grows in a tall head of sturdy dark green leaves with firm ribs down their centers. Unlike most lettuces, it is tolerant of heat. In North America, ...
.


Hazzeret

''Hazzeret'' is undoubtedly domestic lettuce. The word is cognate to other Near-Eastern terms for lettuce: the Talmud identifies ''hazzeret'' as ''hassa'', similar to the Akkadian ''hassu'' and the Arabic ''hash''. Modern varieties of lettuce are only slightly bitter or not at all, such as
iceberg lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiches, wraps an ...
and
romaine lettuce Romaine or cos lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'' L. var. ''longifolia'') is a variety of lettuce that grows in a tall head of sturdy dark green leaves with firm ribs down their centers. Unlike most lettuces, it is tolerant of heat. In North America, ...
. However, in the past domestic lettuce was bitter, and
heirloom varieties An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia and New Zealand), or heirloom vegetable (especially in Ireland and the UK) is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particular ...
of lettuce that are bitter are still available to gardeners. Romaine lettuce is the most commonly used variety, perhaps because it still preserves a slight bitter taste. In addition, the Talmud remarks that Romaine lettuce is not initially bitter, but becomes so later on, which is symbolic of the experience of the Jews in Egypt.
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Pesachim 39a
/ref> The "later" bitterness of lettuce refers to fact that lettuce plants become bitter after they " bolt" (flower), a process which occurs naturally when days lengthen or temperatures rise. Wild or prickly lettuce (''Lactuca serriola'') is listed in Tosefta Pisha as suitable for ''maror'' under the name חזרת הגל or חזרת גלין. However, its absence from the approved list in the Mishnah and Talmud indicate that it is not halakhically suitable.


ʿUlshin

The second species listed in the Mishnah is ''ʿulshin'', which is a plural to refer to both wild and cultivated types of plants in the genus ''
Cichorium ''Cichorium'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. The genus includes two cultivated species commonly known as chicory or endive, plus several wild species.Vienna Dioscurides The Vienna Dioscurides or Vienna Dioscorides is an early 6th-century Byzantine Greek illuminated manuscript of an even earlier 1st century AD work, () by Pedanius Dioscorides in uncial script. It is an important and rare example of a late antique ...
as the wild carrot '' Daucus gingidium''. Rabbi
Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the majo ...
, in his ''Tosafot Yom-Tov'', identified the Mishna's ''temakha'' with Yiddish ''chreyn'' (
horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes Mustard plant, mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and us ...
). This identification has long been recognized as problematic, as horseradish does not grow natively in Israel and was not available to Jews in the Mishnaic period. Horseradish likely began to be used because leafy vegetables like lettuce did not grow in the northern climates Ashkenazi Jews had migrated to, and because some sources allow the use of any bitter substance (if so, the five species in the mishnah would only be illustrative examples). Many Jews use horseradish condiment (a mixture of cooked horseradish, beetroot and sugar), though the
Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
requires that ''maror'' be used as is, that is raw, and not cooked or mixed with salt, vinegar, sugar, lemon, or beets.


Harhavina

The identity of ''harhavina'' is somewhat disputed. It may be ''melilot'' or '' Eryngium creticum''.


Maror

The identity of this species was preserved among the Jews of Yemen as the plant ''
Sonchus oleraceus ''Sonchus oleraceus'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native species, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annu ...
'', a relative of
dandelion ''Taraxacum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus has a near-cosmopolitan distribu ...
native to Israel.
Adin Steinsaltz Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (; 11 July 19377 August 2020) was an Israeli Chabad Chasidic rabbi, teacher, philosopher, social critic, author, translator and publisher. His '' Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud'' was originally published in ...
, ''Talmud Bavli'' – explained, punctuated and translated", Pesachim, volume A, p. 276
The word "maror" is an autohyponym, referring both to this species specifically, and to any species suitable for use at the Seder.


References

{{Authority control Passover foods Passover seder Jewish ceremonial food and drink Positive Mitzvoth