This seder plate is a single tiered plate (in contrast to multi-leveled) and is more representative of the seder plates used today at a family's Passover Seder. It is the size and weight of an average dinner plate however its fine detailing and design makes its symbolic purposes clear. The seder plate is used at the Passover Seder. It is usually placed in the center of the table and it is used to hold the ceremonious foods symbolic of Passover.
On the outer edge of the plate there is a black and light blue
border. In creating this plate the artist has paid special attention
to this element and included a space for each of the foods included
in a Seder meal. The foods are identified in Hebrew and English.
The Hebrew is written in light blue while the English translation
is in black cursive. For example, one of the symbolic foods of
Passover is charoset, the mixture of nuts and apples and wine
that represents the mortar used by the Israelites when laying
bricks. There is also a scene of people laying bricks. Towards
the center of the plate, one observes a second border in black
and light yellow. The central focus of the plate is an artistic
representation of a Passover scene. A man and four women are sitting
around a table that is draped with a fine table cloth. On the
side opposite to the man there is an empty chair which can symbolise
a variety of things. The chair could be left unoccupied for Elijah
the prophet or for the stranger in one's midst, for inherent in
Passover is the desire to ensure that everyone has a seder to
partake in. Other key elements in the image are the participants
reading from a book, most likely a Haggadah
the prayer book that tells the story of Passover, and goblets
of wine on the table, specifically the cup of Elijah.
Accompanying
the plate is a beautifully embroidered red covering. There is
a Hebrew inscription on the cover which identifies that the cover
as supposed to be used for the matzah. Matzah is the unleavened
bread eaten on Passover and during the seder. Three pieces of
Matzot are covered and set on the table near the seder plate.
While it is certainly not necessary for a seder plate to be accompanied
with a matzah cover it is nonetheless a creative set and lends
a sense of completeness and uniformity to these special liturgical
objects.
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