Kate's Global Kitchen: Eggs in the Passover Seder

Eggs in the Passover Seder

Each of the ceremonial foods on the Passover Seder plate has a special reason for being there, including the egg.

Rabbi Jo David of New York explains the custom of serving eggs in the Seder dinner:

"The Betiza—the boiled or roasted egg—represents both fertility and the cycle of life and renewal. It also stands for the additional offering that was made in the Temple on festivals. The egg represents a visual "pun" as well. In Aramaic, a sister language to Hebrew which was spoken in Second Temple times, the word "bea"—means "desire." The egg on the Seder plate also represents the desire of the Holy One to redeem the people of Israel.

"To roast the egg, take a raw egg, bring it to room temperature, pierce the ends with a straight pin and roast it in a toaster oven with the Zeroa—the roasted lamb shank bone which is also a part of the ceremonial Seder plate—until the shank bone is browned."

For more Seder recipes and the traditions of Passover, visit Seders Made Simple.

This page originally published as a Global Gourmet Today column in 1998.

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This page modified January 2007

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