It is proper to set the table for the Seder, and to prepare the Seder plate, in advance, so that the Seder can begin as soon as possible once family members arrive home from the synagogue. In addition to the practical benefit of these advance preparations, namely, that one arrives home and finds the table ready for the Seder, they also contribute to a general atmosphere of freedom, comfort, and leisure. Following are the details of what is required to prepare the Seder table.

On Passover, which is also known as the Festival of Freedom, it is a mitzva to honor the evening with fine, elegant tableware. One should make sure that each of the diners has a cup or a glass for drinking the requisite four cups, and a comfortable, cushioned chair for the obligatory reclining (one may use pillows for this purpose).

One should purchase wine that is certified kosher for Passover, and use only bottles that were not opened before the holiday, making sure to have enough for four cups for each diner. All types of wine are halakhically acceptable for the four cups, but there is a preference for red wine.

While it is definitely preferred to drink actual wine for the four cups, those who find this difficult may use grape juice.

In the time of the Talmud, a small personal table would be set before each diner, on which they would place their food and drink. Nowadays, this practice no longer exists, but there are those who place a special Seder plate before each participant, with the matzot and the other symbolic foods of the Seder: a shank bone, egg, haroset, bitter herbs, etc. Others place the Seder plate only at the head of the table, before the leader of the Seder.

Following is a list of items that should be put on the Seder plate, with an explanation of each food. Except for the shank bone and roasted egg, which are not eaten, all the other items are consumed at some point during the Seder, and one must take care in advance that there is sufficient quantity of each type for everyone.

Maror: One of the mitzvot of the Seder that appears in the Torah is the eating of bitter herbs [maror], as will be detailed in the halakhot of the Seder, in the next section. There are several types of plants that can be used as maror on Passover, but the Talmud states that the optimum way of fulfilling the mitzva is with hazeret, which is identified as lettuce. Some people are particular to use specifically romaine lettuce. Initially the lettuce plant is not bitter, but after a while its leaves do become bitter, especially after the growth of its inflorescence stalks. There are several reasons given for why it is preferable to use this particular plant.

It should be noted that lettuce leaves often contain very small insects, which are similar in color to its leaves and are therefore not easily detected. These insects do not come off with a light rinse. It is necessary to soak the lettuce in water with dish soap, then to wash the leaves thoroughly, and finally to examine each leaf carefully under a bright light.

In Eastern Europe it was customary to eat horseradish (ĥrain in Yiddish) for maror instead of lettuce, which was not easily available there. In fact, the horseradish root has erroneously become known as hazeret in modern Hebrew. It is a tough root and quite sharp (pungent) and difficult to eat. If it is grated, it is easier to eat and its pungency is somewhat reduced as well. After grinding the horseradish in advance of the holiday, it should be kept in a closed container so that its pungency does not dissipate completely.

There are some people who combine these two practices on the Seder night and eat both lettuce leaves and horseradish. The Seder plate has separate places marked for maror and hazeret. Some eat lettuce for maror and horseradish for korekh (the maror sandwich; see below). Others eat both types together for both maror and korekh, after wrapping some of the ground horseradish in lettuce leaves.

Further reading: For more on cleaning leafy vegetables from bugs, see p. 549.

Haroset: The source of the custom of dipping maror into a mixture known as haroset is found in the Mishna. The haroset mixture commemorates the mortar with which the children of Israel built the cities of Egypt, as it is stated: “They embittered their lives with hard work, with mortar and with bricks and with all work in the field, all their work with which they worked for them was with travail” (Exodus 1:14). Haroset is made from mashed fruit, such as apples, dates, and nuts, to which a little wine and cinnamon is added, so that it can serve as a dip.

There is another reason for the use of haroset: In the Song of Songs, the spiritual entity representative of the Jewish people is compared to various fruits, including apples, pomegranates, figs, dates, and nuts. The verse, “Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? Under the apple tree I roused you” (Song of Songs 8:5), directly alludes to the special relationship that was maintained between the people of Israel and God even during the difficult years of bondage in Egypt.

Today one can buy prepared haroset, but one must add wine to it. When the Seder night falls on a Shabbat, the wine must be mixed with the haroset before Shabbat.

It is customary not to partake of the haroset before dipping the bitter herbs into it. After that, one may eat as much as one wishes.

Shank bone: The shank bone [zeroa] is placed on the Seder plate as a reminder of the paschal offering. In many Ashkenazic communities, a chicken wing, or sometimes a chicken neck, is used for the zeroa. In some communities, part of an animal’s front leg is used. Whatever piece of meat is used, the zeroa should be roasted in fire; some are particular to cook it before roasting. As it is merely symbolic of the paschal offering, the zeroa should not be eaten. This restriction applies only on the Seder night, but after that it may be eaten.

The zeroa is also in commemoration of the Torah’s statement that God took us out of Egypt “with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm [zeroa]” (Deuteronomy 4:34).

Egg: A hard-boiled egg is placed on the Seder plate as a reminder of the festival peace offering that would be offered in the Temple together with the paschal offering on the fourteenth of Nisan. In many communities it is customary to begin the meal, after the matza and maror are eaten, with an egg dipped in salt water.

Karpas: One may use almost any vegetable for karpas, although it is highly preferable not to use a vegetable that can be eaten as maror. The word karpas actually refers to a type of celery, but in various communities other vegetables are used, including potatoes, onions, and radishes.

The karpas is dipped in salt water during the Seder. It is recommended to prepare the salt water ahead of time, especially in a year when the Seder takes place on Shabbat.

According to the halakha, the order of placement of the items on the Seder plate does not matter, but over the generations, specific traditions have been established in this regard. The most common is that of the Arizal, the kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Luria, and it is based on kabbalistic concepts:

First one takes three matzot and places them on top of one another. Many people place a divider between each matza, such as a paper napkin or a cloth. In most of the cloth pouches and matza covers that are sold to be used with the Seder plates, there are cloth dividers sewn in for this purpose. The three matzot (with or without a cloth case) are placed on a plate.

One spreads a cover over the upper matza. If the matzot are in a pouch, there is of course no need for an additional cover. On top of that, one arranges, in small dishes or on napkins, the elements of the Seder plate: At the far right corner, the zeroa; at the far left corner, the egg; between these two, but a bit closer to the person, the lettuce; below the lettuce, at the closer right corner, the haroset; across from that, at the closer left corner, under the egg, the karpas; at a lower point under the lettuce, the maror to be used for korekh.

The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the most authoritative Ashkenazic halakhic authority) had a slightly different arrangement, based on the order in which the Seder plate items are used.