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{{Short description|Bitter herbs eaten during
[[File:3TypesMaror.jpg|thumb|Grated [[horseradish]] mixed with cooked beets (known as ''chrein''), [[romaine lettuce]], and horseradish root, which should be freshly grated]]
[[File:Seder Plate.jpg|thumb|[[Passover Seder plate]], ''maror'' on the lowest plate
'''''Maror''''' ({{lang-he|מָרוֹר}} ''mārôr'')
==Biblical source==
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Ever since the Paschal offering ceased to exist with the destruction of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]] in 70 CE, the obligation to consume ''maror'' on the first night of Passover has been rabbinical in nature.
The only two biblical
The word derives from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word {{lang|he-Latn|mar}} ({{lang|he|
==Symbolism==
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==Use at the Seder==
{{Seder plate}}
''Maror'' is one of the foods placed on the [[Passover Seder Plate]] and there is a rabbinical requirement to eat ''maror'' at the Seder. ''Chazeret'' ({{lang-he|חזרת}}) is used for the requirement called ''Korech'', in which the ''maror'' is eaten together with ''[[Matzah|matzo]]''. There are various customs about the kinds of ''maror'' placed at each location.
During the Seder, each participant recites a specific [[blessing]] over the ''maror'' and eats it. It is first dipped into the ''[[charoset]]''— a brown, pebbly mixture which symbolizes the mortar with which the [[Israelite]]s bound bricks for the Egyptians. The excess ''charoset'' is then shaken off and the ''maror'' is eaten.
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===Hazzeret===
''Hazzeret'' is undoubtedly domestic lettuce.<ref>Thus explained in Rabbi [[Hai Gaon]]'s Commentary on Mishnah ''Uktzin'' 1:2 [3]; ''Sefer Arukh'', s.v. חזרת; Mishnah Commentary of [[Rabbi Nathan, President of the Academy]], s.v. Mishnah ''Kila'im'' 1:2; Zohar Amar, ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teachings'', Kefar Darom 2015, p. 77 {{OCLC|783455868}}[Hebrew].</ref> The word is cognate to other Near-Eastern terms for lettuce: the Talmud identifies ''hazzeret'' as ''hassa'',<ref name=p39/> similar to the Akkadian ''hassu'' and the Arabic ''
Modern varieties of lettuce are only slightly bitter or not at all, such as [[iceberg lettuce]] and [[romaine lettuce]]. However, in the past domestic lettuce was bitter, and [[Heirloom plant|heirloom varieties]] 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.<ref name=p39>[[Talmud]], [https://www.sefaria.org.il/Pesachim.39a.3 Pesachim 39a]</ref> The "later" bitterness of lettuce refers to fact that lettuce plants become bitter after they "[[Bolting (horticulture)|bolt]]" (flower), a process which occurs naturally when days lengthen or temperatures rise.<ref>[https://www.thespruce.com/what-does-lettuce-bolt-do-1402981 Why Lettuce Bolts and How to Stop It]</ref>
Wild or [[Lactuca serriola|prickly lettuce (''Lactuca serriola'')]] is listed in [[Tosefta|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.
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===Tamcha===
The Talmud Yershalmi identified Hebrew ''tamcha'' with Greek {{lang|grc|γιγγίδιον}} ''gingídion'', which has been positively identified via the illustration in the [[Vienna Dioscurides]] as the wild carrot ''[[Daucus gingidium]]''.<ref>The [[Jerusalem Talmud]] (''Pesahim'' 2:5 [18a]) calls the '''תמכה''' by the name '''גנגידין''' (''Gingidium''), which, according to [[Dioscorides]] (Book II–167), is a kind of chervil, and can apply to any of the following genera: ''Chaerophyllum'', ''Anthriscus'', ''Chaetosciadium'' and ''Scandix''. Of these, the most commonly grown chervil in Israel is ''[[Chaetosciadium trichospermum]]''. Cf. William Smith (ed.), ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', Third edition, New York 1858, s.v. γιγγίδιον ("gingidium"), "a kind of chervil." [[Ibn Baytar]], citing [[Galen]], explains ''Gingidium'' as rather meaning a species of [[wild carrot]] (e.g. ''Daucus gingidium'', or something similar). This view is accepted by [[Pliny the Elder]] who, in his ''Natural History'' (Book XX, ch. XVI), wrote: "In [[
Rabbi [[Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller]], in his ''Tosafot Yom-Tov'', identified the Mishna's ''temakha'' with Yiddish ''chreyn'' ([[horseradish]]). 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
Many Jews use horseradish condiment (a mixture of cooked horseradish, beetroot and sugar), though the [[Shulchan Aruch]] requires that ''maror'' be used as is, that is raw, and not cooked or mixed with salt, vinegar, sugar, lemon, or beets.<ref>Orach Chaim 473:5</ref>
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===Maror===
The identity of this
==References==
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