From: romeo@fang.att.com (Romeo Gonzalez(660-3252))
Subject: Re: (FAQ)explanation of the egg
Organization: AT&T Tax Systems Development, Maitland FL
Distribution: soc
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1992 18:01:40 GMT

From article <1992Apr9.1659.8671@execnet>, by ken.halfon@execnet.com (ken halfon):


>     I was wondering if anyone had an explanation of the symbolism of the
> egg on the Seder plate?

From last years postings:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    From: avi@dgp.toronto.edu (Avi Naiman)
    Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
    Subject: Re: Dipping Eggs
    Keywords: seder,passover,pesach
    Date: 12 Apr 90 01:22:05 GMT
    References: <287@accur8.UUCP>
    Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
    Lines: 47
    
    In article <287@accur8.UUCP> levinson@accur8.UUCP (Edward Levinson) writes:
    
    > At my in-law's seder there is a custom of dipping hard boiled eggs in salt
    > water.  This occurs before we eat the meal but is not part of the meal
    > itself.  
    >                         Can someone suggest a reason for this minhag?
    
    Quoting from the ArtScroll Mesorah Series Haggadah (p. 162):
    
    A hard-boiled egg.  A number of reasons have been offered for this
    custom.  At the first meal after a funeral, the bereaved are usually
    offered an egg, for it is a symbol of mourning.  It has no opening or
    mouth, just as a mourner is struck dumb by his fate; at the same time,
    however, it offers encouragement: it signifies the turning of the wheel
    of destiny which hopefully will bring joy instead of sadness.  There
    is a need for this message on Seder night: the absence of the Pesach
    offering (i.e., Passover sacrifice) evokes a sense of mourning for the
    destroyed Temple, particularly since the first night of Passover always
    falls on the same day of the week as Tishah Be'av (the day of mourning
    commemorating the destruction of the two Temples).  Moreover, it was on
    the fifteenth day of Nissan (i.e., the first night of Passover) that
    our father Abraham died [attributed to the Pri Megadim -- Rabbi Joseph
    Tumim, 1727-1792].
    
    It has also been ponted out that it was a pagan custom in Egypt not to
    eat animal foods, and the eating of the egg therefore symbolizes
    liberation from Egypt [Ibn Ezra -- Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, 1092-1167].
    Eggs, unlike other food, get harder the longer they are boiled, and
    thus can be taken as a symbol of how the Jews kept increasing the more
    they were oppressed [Chasam Sofer -- Rabbi Moshe Sofer, Toras Moshe,
    1762-1839].  Also, eggs signify the dawn of life -- just as the Exodus
    represented the first beginnings of the Jewish people [Toras Emes].
    The Vilna Gaon [Rabbi Eliyaahu of Vilna, 1720-1797] suggested that one
    should eat the egg from the Seder plate -- which represents the
    Chagigah offering (i.e., Festival sacrifice, a 'generic' sacrifice
    brought on all festivals) -- as a reminder of the Chagigah that was
    eaten at the Seder meal.
    
    Regarding the egg from the Seder plate it says (p. xlix):
    
    For the Chagigah we use a [hardboiled] egg, even though some boiled
    meat would also serve; the egg is a sign of mourning for the
    destruction of the Temple -- its round shape symbolizes the turning of
    the wheel of destiny and holds out the hope for a speedy rebuilding.
    -- 
    Avi Naiman
    avi@dgp.toronto.edu
>>>>>>>>>

Pesach S'Meah
-- 
Romeo Gonzalez
romeo@fang.att.com
AT&T Orlando, FL