03+N+כרפס-Karpas-Eat+the+Green+Vegetables

N =3=

קדש ורחץ
=כרפס Karpas Eat the Green Vegetables= ‡ Dip sprigs of parsley in salt water and distribute them to all present at the Seder table while reading the following paragraphs and singing the following songs. My heart overflows with joy! I finally see more daylight than darkness and a full moon glows tonight. Celebrate with me the flowering of the world of nature. Spring! The season of rebirth and renewal. On this Pesach festival, we read from the Song of Songs. I want to hold your hand and run through the fields of flowers as the fresh sun shines on our faces. I know that what I feel for you mirrors the love of a caring universe for the people of Israel. This is the song of our betrothal covenant. ‡ Choose a metaphor that matches one to whom you are drawn: 15 As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. How fair is thy love, my sister my bride! How much better is thy love than wine! And the smell of thine ointments than all manner of spices!

El Ginnat Egoz 4
אל–גנת אגוז ירדתי לראות באבי הנחל לראות הפרחה הגפן הנצו הרמנים I went down to the nut garden to look at the plants of the valley to see if the flowers had budded whether the pomegranates were in bloom. ‡ Choose a metaphor that matches one to whom you are drawn: As an apple tree among the trees of wood, so is my beloved among the sons. Under its shadow I delighted to sit, and its fruit was sweet to my taste. He has brought me to the banqueting-house and his banner over me is love.

דודי לי ואני לו הרועה בשׁושׁנים. (2) מי זאת עלה מן המדבר, מי זאת עלה? מקטרת מור, מור ולבונה. דודי לי לבבתיני אחותי כלה, לבבתיני כלה. דודי לי עורי צפון, ובואי תימן. דודי לי //Dodi li, va-ani lo, ha ro-eh ba-shoshanim. (2) Mi zote olah, min ha-midbar; mi zote olah Meh-ku-teret mor, mor uleh-vo-nah, mor uleh-vo-nah… (Dodi Li…) Li bav-ti-ni a-cho-ti kalah; li bav-ti-ni kalah (Dodi Li…) Oo-ri, tsafon, oo-vo-ee tey-man; Oo-ri, tsafon, oo-vo-ee tey-man (Dodi Li…)// My beloved is mine and I am my beloved’s, a shepherd in the wild roses. Who is this, coming up from the wilderness, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense? You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride… Awake, north wind, and come, south wind… //Awake, o north-wind; and come, thou south; Blow upon our garden that the spices thereof may flow out. May we enter our garden and eat of its precious fruits.// Even before the Exodus from Egypt our ancestors probably celebrated the mystery of life and the creation of the world each spring. Now again, we remind ourselves of the greens of the earth and the salt of the sea from which all life emerged, and on which all life depends. But we do not simply celebrate spring’s renewal nor love’s warmth. Pesach celebrates our becoming free. Through the wondrous rebirth of life we can feel the precarious beginnings of the struggle for freedom. The sea’s salt not only reminds us of life’s start, but also of the brine of tears shed by our people and by all people striving to be free. ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם, בורא פרי האדמה //Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p’ri ha-adamah.// Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of all space and time, who brings fruit from the earth. ‡ Everyone eats the parsley ‡ The third of the four questions asks why we dip our vegetables twice during the Seder meal. No one is certain what the second “dipping” actually is— either the Charoset itself (fruit and nuts with wine), or the Charoset mixed with the Maror (the Hillel sandwich). It is possible that the question refers to two salads: a vegetable salad and a fruit salad. As such, the green salads (gefilte fish, crudités) with dressing might be served now, as the Seder continues.

1 An alternate explanation of karpas and how to serve it appears on page 11