What is Chametz? What Goes on the Seder Plate?

(originally published 2009)
My Kinder,

Since there is no community Seder this year, Tanta Golda has received several questions about observing Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew.) Among them: What exactly is chametz? I’m always leaving something out, what goes on the Seder plate? Will other crackers take the place of matzah? What must I have at a Seder? Do I have to eat matzah for eight days?

I don’t know if I can answer all of your questions in one column, but for you, I’ll try.

Chametz means ‘leaven’. It also refers to foods forbidden during Pesach. Five grains are specifically laid out in the Talmud: wheat, oats, barley, rye and spelt. Ashkenazi Jews later added rice, corn, peas, beans and peanuts because these can be dried and ground into flour. This accounts for why many Jews will not partake of food or drinks that contain corn syrup, leading to kosher for Passover candy and Coke Cola. (Don’t get Tanta Golda started on this one…)  Back in the day, as the youngsters say, the penalty for eating, carrying or even owning chametz during Pesach was excommunication! Me, I’m grateful that rabbinic authorities have softened the penalties for this trespass.

Matzah seems to follow chametz naturally. So first: NO, other crackers can never take the place of matzah. Matzah is made from flour that is, at minimum, watched from the time of milling, to insure that it doesn’t come in contact with moisture or heat, until it is time to prepare it. Then, the entire process, from when water is added until it comes out of the oven as a finished product, must take no more than eighteen minutes for the matzah to be considered proper for Pesach. Longer than this and the dough is considered leaven.

Jewish law only requires matzah to be eaten during the Seder. It is optional the remainder of the holiday. However, one is not allowed to eat chametz until Passover has ended. So, if you want a PBJ or chopped chicken liver sandwich, you need to use matzah.

The Seder plate contains six symbolic foods. 1. roasted shankbone to remind us of the lamb’s blood painted on the doorposts of the homes of the Hebrew slaves so the angel of death would pass over them. 2. Maror (bitter herbs), usually horseradish, but some people use romaine lettuce, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. 3. Roasted egg symbolic of rebirth, as the slaves were reborn as a free people. 4. Charoset usually combination of apples, wine, walnuts and cinnamon. (The Sephardic recipe is quite different!) This signifies the mortar the slaves used to hold bricks together. 5. Karpas a green veggie, usually parsley, symbolic of spring, which is then dipped in 6. salt water to remind us of the tears our ancestors shed.

As for what must be at any Seder table: the symbolic foods on a plate (doesn’t have to be a fancy shmansy plate); three whole matzah, the top and bottom ones take the place of the two challah ordained for Shabbat, the middle is the one specifically for Pesach and is used for the afikoman (the one later hidden). A kiddush cup for everyone and enough wine or grape juice for each person to have four glasses of wine/juice. Festive candles, as on Shabbat. Elijah’s cup, as an expression of our hope for the betterment of society. And finally, a Haggadah, preferably one for each person, but sharing is certainly allowed! 

So, now my darlings, don’t be intimidated about hosting a Seder, and have a Happy Pesach! Tanta Golda