What is your karpas?

Source: joyofkosher.com

Pesach is a very interesting holiday and shows the diversity of traditions and customs among the Jewish communities all over the world. The more I start reading and thinking about it, the more I discover how many things can be said and explored about this holiday, more than ever know. Due to different minhagim and the different chumre we took upon ouselves as individuals or families, we are more inclined to spend the time with our owns and there are not too many occasions to learn too much from these traditions. 

The Arizal said that on Pesach we should be machmir on chumrot and we need to daven and pray to be strong enough to avoid being lenient and chas v'shalom ingest by accident any kind of chometz. 

While trying to read out more about these traditions, I discovered for instance a couple of days ago some interesting stories and interpretations about the karpas. According to my minhag, we always had as karpas the parsley, but apparently not everyone agrees with that. The Talmud Yerushalmi seems to mention parsley, but some say that in fact it is about celery. Some may use onions, or radishes or carrots. Some may also use parsley with a small or bigger piece of cooked potato. It is also important that what you use for karpas is not the same veggie used as maror. The fix rule that it should be something to which the ha'adama bracha is said. No wonder if someone wants to use banana then... if this is their minhag...why not...? It is said that one chasid went to the Belzer Rav with a beautiful cucumber as a present for using it for karpas and was disappointed that his gift was refused because the Rav reminded him that using cucumber was not the minhag of his hasidim.

Because it is unclear whether the eating of karpas requires a bracha ahrona, one should only eat a small piece, less than a kezayit (according to Rashba). Rambam said though that it should be eaten one kezayit and that it should dip it into salt water. Some also dip into vinegar or charoset. Most also do not recline when eating karpas. 

But what is actually karpas? There are many interpretations: either it recall the fancy coat that Yaakov Avinu gate to Yosef and which lead to slavery (some fine linen may be referred as karpas); or the symbol of the flourishing of the Jewish life before the Egyptian slavery.  If the letters are mixes, you can have either parech - hard labor - or samech perech - 600,000 suffered in backbreaking labor. The presence of the karpas in the logic of the seder is also subject of interpretations, either as an appetizer aimed to not make you starve before the real food is coming, or as an occasion for the children to start asking questions.

Tonight, we will go around the table, enjoying your own minhagim and family stories, so much connected with the history of the Jewish people. But there is always time to learn more and share our traditions, as part of the common history we are all part thereof.

Hag Sameah!