THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

History of Seder plate
traced back to Mishnah

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Tt:11:1T

Friday, April 13, 1984

EltI tICIM EIC3 E3

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KOSHER FOR PASSOVER

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A Seder plate dating from the 19th Century and
originating from Jerusalem.

BY DR. DAVID GEFFEN
Jerusalem — The earliest
reference to the ornamental
plate that decorates the
Passover Seder table is to be
found in the Mishnah
Pesachin. There it is called
in Hebrew, Ke'arah and the
various symbolic foods re-
lating to Passover which are
to be placed upon it are also
mentioned.

While the Haggadah was
illustrated by illumination
in the Middle Ages, deco-
rated for the Passover plate
are not known until the
early Renaissance period.
Interestingly enough in the
Haggadah illuminations
the Ashkenazi version of
the Passover plate is de-
picted as round and the
Sephardic and Italian ver-
sions as a woven basket.

Various materials have
been used for the Passover
plate including porcelain,
stoneware, pewter, wood,
silver and in more recent
times plastic. The plates
contain a variety of pictures
relating to the exodus from
Egypt, the Seder meal itself
and the four sons. These
illustrations added an addi-

KOSHER FOR PASSOVER

under supervision of the
Metropolitan Kashruth Council
of Michigan,
Rabbi Jack Goldman, Administrator

tiorial dimension to the edu-
cational value of the Seder
table, and the artist's work
made the setting even more
festive.

Ceramic plates for
Passover are known from
the 1500s. They were made
initially in Spain and later
in Italy. The Delft Seder
dish from the 1600s is con-
sidered a classic in its own
right. A 20th Century
English bone china Seder
plate with individual dishes
for each of the Passover
Seder symbols is no less out-
standing.
Even the Jewish commu-
nity in 19th Century Pales-
tine left us a poignant re-
minder of its joyful celebra-
tion of Passover — a glazed
ceramic Seder plate which
can be found today in the
Wolfson Museum in
Jerusalem. The aspects of
the Passover story are de-
picted but most important is
the word "Yerushalayim"
(Jerusalem) on the face of
the plate. This plate was a
dramatic reminder for all
those who used it of the con-
cluding words in the Seder:
"Next Year in Jerusalem."

rcth

under supervision of Rabbi Jack Goldman
of the Metropolitan Kashruth Council of
Michigan

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World Zionist Press Service

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63