Seder Plate II

If the Passover seder is a communal drama, the seder plate is its main stage prop. Here, the central theme of Pesach--emerging from slavery into freedom--is expressed by the separation of foods representing those two states. Haroset, maror, and hazeret are 3 ritual foods meant to recall our enslavement to the Egyptians. The shank bone, egg, and the karpas remind us of our status as a free people.
The foods of slavery rest on a lower level, set into a heavy limestone slab. In stark contrast, the foods of freedom are elevated on a shimmering brass disc, evoking the higher spiritual plane of the Israelites in the desert. The element that simultaneously separates and connects these two conditions is water. Here, a channel of salt water on the seder plate points to the pivotal role of the Red Sea in the Exodus story.

• Jerusalem Gold limestone + hand-hammered brass, 12” x 20” x 4”
• Limited edition of 36
• Created for “New Works/Old Story” at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
• $3,600. Available at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, The Jewish Museum, NY, and this website.