The first thing we do Passover night , before the actual Seder begins is construct the Seder plate (ke’ara). There are ten items: three Matzahs, six food items- zero’a (roasted shank bone), beitza (egg), maror (bitter herbs), charoset ( a pasty mixture of fruits, nuts and wine), karpas (vegetable such as onion, potato or celery), chazeret (bitter herbs such as romaine lettuce and endives, used in Korach sandwich) and the plate itself.
According to the Arizal the ten items on the Seder plate, including the plate as one of the items,reflect the structure of human consciousness ( the ten sefirot, which are three intellectual faculties and seven emotional faculties).
The Rebbe Rashab once said this when preparing his Seder plate: ” we have saddled the wagon”. Meaning that the Seder plate is like a wagon which takes you on a journey to your desired destination. He then explained that the food items on the Seder plate have the ability to to become a vehicle that carries you to a spiritual destination far greater than the place that the soul on its own can reach, when put the right intention into them.
The first lesson is that harmony in life requires a proper alignment between mind and heart. The three Matzahs represent the three intellectual faculties:Chochma (Wisdom), Bina (Understanding) and Da’at (Knowledge). This is the way in which our brains process information. First we have a spark (an idea), then we have to understand it and then it becomes knowledge ( becomes embedded in us).
When the intellect is infused with humility (Matzahs) it becomes an objective “captain” of the sea of emotions. When we put the other items on the matzah, the matzah holds and protects the six emotions. We must also ensure that our minds be infused with humility so we can control our emotions, passions and desires.
Tomorrow we will continue with the items on the Seder plate, which represent our six emotional faculties.
Adapted from Rabbi Simon Jacobson “The Seder Plate: A Microcosm of Your Psyche”
