Maror: Difference between revisions

[[File:Seder Plate.jpg|thumb|[[Passover Seder plate]], ''maror'' on the lowest plate.]]

'''''Maror''''' ({{lang-he|מָרוֹר}} ''mārôr'') refers toare the bitter [[herb]]s eaten at the [[Passover Seder]] in keeping with the [[mitzvah|biblical commandment]] "with bitter herbs they shall eat it." ([[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 12:8). The Maror is one of the [[List of foods with religious symbolism|symbolic foods]] placed on the [[Passover Seder plate]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seder Preparations - Jewish Tradition |url=https://yahadut.org/en/shabbat-and-festivals/the-seder/seder-preparations/ |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=yahadut.org |language=en}}</ref>

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 referencereferences to the ''maror'' isare the verse quoted above (Exodus 12:8) in which it is mentioned in reference to the offering, and in Numbers 9:11 where "They are to eat the lamb, together with the unleavened bread and bitter herbs".<ref name="MC" /> This is in contradistinction to the obligation to consume ''[[Matzah|matzo]]'' on the first night of Passover, which remains a biblical commandment even in the absence of the Paschal Lamb, because there are other biblical verses that mention ''matzo'' as a standalone obligation (Exodus 12:18, Deuteronomy 16:8)

The word derives from the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word {{lang|he-Latn|mar}} ({{lang|he|מֵרמַר}} or {{lang|he|מָרָה}}, "bitter"), and so may be related to the English word [[myrrh]] (through [[Aramaic]] {{lang|arc|ܡܪܝܪܐ}} {{lang|arc-Latn|mriro}}, cognate with [[Arabic language|Arabic]] {{lang|ar|مرّ}} {{lang|ar-Latn|murr}}).

''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 ''korechKorech'', 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|]]''charoset'']]&mdash; 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.

The ''[[halakha]]'' (Jewish law) prescribes the minimum amount of ''maror'' that should be eaten to fulfillfulfil the ''[[mitzvah|]]''mitzvah'']] (a ''kazayis'' or ''[[kezayit]]'', literally meaning the volume of an [[olive]]) and the amount of time in which it should be consumed. To fulfillfulfil the obligation, the flavorflavour of the ''maror'' must be unadulterated by cooking or preservatives, such as being soaked in vinegar.<ref>''[[Mishna]]'' ''[[Pesachim]]'' 2:6</ref>

''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> and theThe word is cognate to other Near-Eastern terms for lettuce. While in: the past,Talmud domesticidentifies lettuce''hazzeret'' wasas bitter''hassa'',<ref modernname=p39/> varietiessimilar areto onlythe slightlyAkkadian bitter or not at all, such as [[iceberg lettuce]]''hassu'' and [[romaine lettuce]]. [[Heirloom plant|Heirloom varieties]] of lettuce are still available to gardeners that are bitter. Romaine lettuce is the most commonly used variety, perhaps because it still preserves a slight bitter taste, though all domestic varieties constituteArabic ''hazzeret.hash''.

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.

The second species listed in the Mishnah is ''`ulshin'', which is a plural to refer to both wild and cultivated types<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.39a.4?lang name=bi&with=all&lang2=en TB Pesahim 39 a]<p39/ref> of plants in the genus ''[[Cichorium]]''.<ref>Yehuda Felix, ''Mareos Hamishna''. [http://www.neveh.org/pesach/pesblm1.html Source] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317082009/http://www.neveh.org/pesach/pesblm1.html |date=2016-03-17 }}</ref> The term is cognate to other near-eastern terms for endives, such as Aramaic עלת and Arabic ''`alath''.

The Talmud Yershalmi identified Hebrew Tamcha''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 [[Greater Syria (region)|Syria]] very great pains are taken over kitchen-gardens; hence the Greek proverb: 'Syrians have plenty of vegetables.' They sow a vegetable called by some ''gingidion'' that is very like ''staphylinus'' (=parsnip; carrot), only it is slighter and more bitter, though its properties are the same. It is eaten, cooked or raw, with great advantage to the stomach, for it dries up all its humours, however deep these may lie."</ref>

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. 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>

The identity of ''harhavina'' is somewhat disputed.<ref>El'ad Kapah, ''The Identification of the Mishna Plants According to Rabbi Nathan's Commentary of the Mishna'', Ramat-Gan 2007, p. 48 (Hebrew); Zohar Amar, ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teaching''s, Kfar Darom 2015, pp. 88–89 {{OCLC|783455868}}. It is variously identified as a vine growing around palms, a type of thistle, or a type of acacia.</ref> It may be [[Melilotus|''melilot'']] or ''[[Eryngium creticum]]''.

The identity of this autohyponym which names the vegetables suitable for the mitzvahspecies was preserved among the Jews of Yemen as the plant ''[[Sonchus oleraceus]]'', a relative of [[dandelion]] native to Israel.<ref>[[Adin Steinsaltz]], ''Talmud Bavli – explained, punctuated and translated", Pesachim, volume A, p. 276</ref> The word "maror" is an [[Hyponymy and hypernymy|autohyponym]], referring both to this species specifically, and to any species suitable for use at the Seder.