Haggadah:Karpas/0
Karpas
Why Eat Karpas?
The custom known today as Karpas1 is mentioned briefly in Mishna Pesachim 10:3:
הֵבִיאוּ לְפָנָיו מְטַבֵּל בַּחֲזֶרֶת עַד שֶׁהוּא מַגִּיעַ לְפַרְפֶּרֶת הַפַּת.
The passage's language is cryptic, but it appears to speak of eating or dipping2 food before the main meal. The Mishna mentions חֲזֶרֶת (lettuce) explicitly, but the truncated phrase "and they brought before him" allows for the possibility that other foods or vegetables were brought as well.3 No reason is given for the custom, and at first glance it would seem to have nothing to do with Pesach and the story of the Exodus. Why, then, is the custom incorporated into the Seder?
Tannaitic Period: Whetting the Appetite
In the Mishnaic period it was a common practice in Israel that festive meals began with a series of appetizers. This is attested to in several Tannaitic passages,4 which mention assorted appetizers as being part of "סדר הסעודה". Thus, for example, Tosefta Berakhot 4:8 mentions a series of three "פרפריות" that would be served to guests in an outer hall before moving to the central dining area to eat the main course.
Such festive meals likely served as the model for the Seder,5 and thus, in its earliest stages, the "vegetable dipping" of Karpas had no special religious significance. It was simply the natural opening of the meal, meant to whet the appetite for later courses. Lettuce is mentioned explicitly, probably because it was the most common appetizer of the time,6 but there would have been other foods eaten as well. The Mishna's language "עַד שֶׁהוּא מַגִּיעַ לְפַרְפֶּרֶת הַפַּת" suggests that the participants continued to eat until close to the meal,7 not limiting themselves to a single vegetable (or less than an olive's worth). This practice is attested to in the earliest extant Haggadah from Eretz Yisrael8 which includes four different blessings made at this point in the Seder: "בורא פרי האדמה", "בורא פרי העץ", "בורא מיני מעדנים", and "בורא מיני נפשות", implying that at least four distinct foods were eaten.9
Amoraic Period I: Stimulating the Children's Curiosity
In Babylonian Amoraic literature, a different explanation of the custom appears. Bavli Pesachim 114b and 116a imply that the first dipping/eating was instituted only so that the children will ask ("כי היכי דליהוי היכירא לתינוקות").10 This new understanding stems from the differing dining customs in Babylonia and Israel. The dipping/eating of an appetizer was not customary outside of Israel, so the Bavli did not see being "מְטַבֵּל בַּחֲזֶרֶת" as a normal part of the meal, and needed to explain its presence in the Seder. Thus, the Bavli posits that this custom, like other exceptional acts throughout the evening, was performed to provoke questioning by the children.11
Amoraic Period II: From "חזרת" to "שאר ירקות"
A second development in the Amoraic period is the practice of using "other vegetables" rather than lettuce for the first dipping. Using חֲזֶרֶת (lettuce) created two halakhic questions:12 If one ate chazeret before the meal, was the obligation of maror already fulfilled, or did it need to be eaten again?13 Second, when should the blessing of "על אכילת מרור" be recited – when one first ate of the chazeret, or only later?14 To remove themselves from doubt, several rabbis thus suggested eating vegetables other than lettuce for the first dipping.15
Medieval Period I: From "שאר ירקות" to "כרפס"
In the wake of the halakhic issues raised in the Bavli, post Talmudic authorities also rule that it is preferable to use a "non-bitter" vegetable.16 Among those suggested by Machzor Vitri is karpas, which has been identified with either parsley or celery.17 This apparently became the preferred option in Rashi's circles, as his "סימני הסדר" mentions "כרפס" as the third sign.18 With time, כרפס even became the universal name for the custom, even when parsley or celery (i.e. the original "karpas") was not used as the dipped vegetable.
Medieval Period II: Derashot on Karpas
In the aftermath of the widespread usage of the term כרפס, new understandings of the custom emerged, each an attempt to connect the name itself with the events of the sojourn in Egypt:
- ס' פרך – R. Asher of Lunel suggests that כרפס spelled backwards stands for "סבלונות פרך", recalling the back breaking labor of the Israelites in Egypt.19
- כתונת פסים – The Sefer HaMenuchah asserts that כרפס recalls the כתונת פסים that Ya'akov made for Yosef, which began the chain of events leading to the descent to Egypt.20
- Straw – The Rokeach looks not into the word karpas, but its form, suggesting that it is meant to remind one of the straw used by the Israelites when building bricks. As such, it represents the enslavement.
Related Disputes
- Does Karpas require הסיבה (leaning)? The dispute regarding whether or not it is required to eat Karpas while leaning might, in part, relate to the different understandings of the custom discussed above. If the custom stemmed from the appetizers that begin a festive meal, it would seem that it, like other parts of the meal which represent freedom, would be eaten while leaning. However, those who think the custom is merely an act meant to arouse the curiosity of the children, and, moreover, those who suggest that Karpas is an acronym for "ס' פרך" and a symbol of the oppression, would maintain that it does not require leaning.21
- How much should be eaten? The original custom in Israel did not limit the amount of appetizers that one could eat, and many Rishonim agree that at least an olive's worth is eaten.22 In the thirteenth century, however, several authorities suggest that one can fulfill the obligation with even a small amount, since it is just a "sign for the children".23 This became the common practice mainly because of halakhic questions which were raised regarding whether an after-blessing should be said after Karpas; to remove themselves from doubt, it was suggested to eat less than an olive's worth.
- Dipping: charoset, vinegar or salt water?
