We eat maror, the bitter herb, as one of the indispensable elements of the Passover Seder. As unpleasant as the experience might be, we must actually be sure to taste the bitterness. The rabbis teach, “Bala Maror Lo Yatza – One who simply swallows the maror whole has not fulfilled the Mitzvah” (Pesachim 115B).
We have a religious and moral obligation personally to taste, to share in the bitterness others endure… and convincingly to evoke the suffering which our People has experienced at so many junctures in our history. Some may find this element of the Seder distasteful… but our duty to achieve empathy, compassion, and moral clarity demands no less.
In the same spirit, we do not recline while eating the maror: when there is suffering in the world, it is no time to be preoccupied with our own comfort. We must sit up and take notice.
Originally, the bitter herbs were merely an accompaniment to the Paschal sacrifice… not a separate Mitzvah. Recalling painful losses is a moral requisite, but must not become our central focus or priority. The history of Jewish suffering must never supplant the joyful celebration of our faith and Covenant and freedom.
Such a narrow focus – like human suffering itself – is too much for the thoughtful Jew to swallow.
(Rabbi Joseph H. Prouser is the rabbi of Temple Emanuel of North Jersey and the National Chaplain of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting.)
We have a religious and moral obligation personally to taste, to share in the bitterness others endure… and convincingly to evoke the suffering which our People has experienced at so many junctures in our history. Some may find this element of the Seder distasteful… but our duty to achieve empathy, compassion, and moral clarity demands no less.