The seder plate has for centuries been a vehicle for artists to express religious devotion through beautification; Avishay Artsy explores how contemporary seder plate design reflects the evolving nature of the seder dinner itself.
This week is Passover, an eight day holiday commemorating the liberation of Jewish slaves from Egypt more than 33-hundred years ago. It was celebrated Monday with the long Seder dinner, and Jews outside of Israel have a second Seder Tuesday night.
Seder means “order,” a Hebrew word that is also the verb used to set the table; and at the center of that table is the Seder plate, most commonly a porcelain plate with a Star of David or the Hebrew word Pesach — for Passover — inscribed in its center, surrounded by six indentations, each labeled for the symbolic food it’s meant to contain.
Although this plate can be quite ordinary, over the centuries it has been a vehicle for artists to express religious devotion through beautification, and, increasingly, for them to give visual form to the evolving Seder liturgy itself. Hear about how on this segment, with guest Avishay Artsy.