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Misconception: Horseradish(chrain) is the preferred item to use tofulfill the mitzvah of eating maror at theSeder.

Fact: Among Ashkenazim, horse-radish is widely used for maror. Whilehorseradish often appears as the transla-tion for tamcha, one of the vegetableslisted in the Mishnah that may be usedfor maror, the translation is probablyinaccurate.1 Although horseradish isnow considered acceptable for use at theSeder, according to many posekim, let-tuce and endives are preferable.

Background: The Torah requiresthat the korban Pesach, both on Pesach(Shemot 12:8) and Pesach Sheni(Bamidbar 9:11), be eaten with matzahand maror. These days, in the absence ofthe Beit Hamikdash, we do not eat thekorban Pesach, but there is still a rab-binic requirement for both men andwomen (SA OC 472:14) to eat maroron Seder night.2

What is maror? The Mishnah(Pesachim 2:6; 39a) lists the followingfive vegetables that may be used asmaror: chazeret, ulshin, tamcha, char-chavina and maror.3 Because theMishnah does not provide the identitiesof the vegetables, the Gemara providesfurther detail.

Heading the list, and presumablythe preferred item (according to many

authorities, the Mishnah lists theseitems in order of preference),4 is chaz-eret. The Gemara identifies this aschasah, the modern Hebrew word forlettuce, and there is little doubt that theMishnaic chazeret is lettuce (Lactucasativa). Lettuce is a winter plant in Israeland thus was, and is, readily available intime for Pesach. Israel’s “wild lettuce”(Lactuca serriola) neither looks nor tasteslike the lettuce sold in American super-markets. It consists of a central stalkwith loose, prickly dark green leaves; itcontinues to grow wild in Israel. Thelettuce is bitter, especially as it ages, andwhen its stalk is cut, it oozes a consider-able amount of white, bitter sap. Earlycultivated lettuce had this same sap. Itmight be worthwhile when visitingIsrael to seek out some wild lettuce andsample its bitterness.

The second item, ulshin, translat-ed as hindvei, is nearly universallyunderstood to refer to endives.5 Next istamcha, which the Gemara calls temach-ta and whose specific identity is uncer-tain.

Throughout Southern andWestern Europe and the Mediterraneancountries, lettuce, endives and similarvegetables were used for maror, andcontinue to be used today.

For the Jews in Northern andEastern Europe this was not always anoption. As Jews moved further northand east into colder climates, it becameincreasingly difficult to acquire lettuce

and other leafy vegetables in time forPesach.

In modern Hebrew, horseradish(Armoracia rusticana) is called chazeret,the first term on the Mishnah’s list.While tamcha, the third item, is oftentranslated in rabbinic literature ashorseradish,6 it is fairly certain that thistranslation is inaccurate, because it isunlikely that horseradish existed in theMiddle East in the Talmudic period.Furthermore, horseradish is sharp ratherthan bitter.7

Horseradish is first mentioned8 inrabbinic literature by Rabbi Eliezar benNatan of Mainz (c.1090-c.1170) andthe Rokeach, Rabbi Eliezer of Worms(c.1165-c.1230), both of whom refer toit not as maror, but as an ingredient incharoset! Tosafot Yom Tov (Pesachim 2:6)and Hagahot Maimoniot (ChametzUmatzah 7:13) were among the earliestworks to identify tamcha as horseradish.

The fact that horseradish may notbe found in the Mishnaic list does notnecessarily preclude it from being usedas maror. After all, it is uncertainwhether the Mishnaic list is exhaustive;it may simply be illustrative. Indeed, theGemara cites two beraitot, each of whichprovides different lists of vegetables thatcan be used for maror. Some rabbinicopinions state that only plants that wereknown as “maror” in the Biblical peri-od—as attested by inclusion in a mish-nah or beraita—are acceptable as maror.According to those opinions, the lists

LegalEase

What’s the Truth about ... Using Horseradish forMaror?By Ari Z. Zivotofsky

Rabbi Dr. Zivotofsky is on the faculty of theBrain Science Program at Bar-Ilan Universityin Israel.

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found in the Mishnah and the beraitotare indeed exhaustive, and the onlyherbs acceptable for maror are those forwhich there exists an unbroken tradi-tion (mesoret) identifying them as beingpart of the Mishnaic lists (see SA Harav473:27; MA OC 473:15; Chok YaakovOC 473:24 and Chayei Adam 130:3).Ironically, many of these authoritieswho demand a mesoret are those whoapprove of horseradish for marorbecause they identify it with tamcha.

Other statements in the Gemaraindicate that any pale green vegetablethat oozes a milk-white liquid uponbeing cut is acceptable. Rashi (Shemot12:8) writes that any bitter herb iscalled maror.9 The Gemara even assertsthat were it not for a Scriptural exclu-sion, non-plants would be acceptable asmaror. One of the items the Gemarasuggests could have been used as maroris the gall bladder of the kufya fish,identified by Rabbeinu Chananel as thefamous shibuta.10 Rema (OC 473:5)rules that in the absence of an accept-able vegetable, any bitter vegetableshould be used, albeit without aberachah (MB 473:46).

Another concern with fulfillingthe mitzvah of maror with horseradish isthat the root is used. The Mishnahstates (Pesachim 39a) that one shouldfulfill the obligation to eat maror witheither the leaves or the stem of theplant; the Shulchan Aruch rules similar-ly, emphasizing “not the root” (SA OC473:5). The irony, of course, is that inthe colder northern climates where theAshkenazim had migrated, horseradishwas available precisely because it is aroot—and not a leafy—plant. Someauthorities excluded using the smallroots of plants for maror but permittedusing large roots (such as those of horse-radish). These rabbis asserted that largeroots are merely extensions of thestem.11

Flying in the face of rabbinicopposition, the use of horseradish formaror continued to spread among themasses of Eastern European Jewry tothe extent that by the eighteenth centu-ry it was being used even in places

where leafy vegetables could beobtained. Some authorities, such as RavShlomo Ganzfried (1804-1886; KitzurShulchan Aruch 118:3), bemoaned thissituation and advocated using lettucewhen possible.

Rav Tzvi Ashkenazi (1660-1718;Shu”t Chacham Tzvi 119) provides awonderful summary of this topic. Heexplains that horseradish came to beused for maror either because lettucewas not available in cold climates12 orbecause those dwelling far from Israellost the ability to identify the correctspecies of lettuce. He then laments theconundrum that this situation caused.He writes, “Those who are not carefulabout keeping mitzvot do not fulfilltheir obligation to eat the requiredamount of maror because horseradish istoo sharp, while those who try to bemeticulous about keeping mitzvot eatthe requisite amount13 and therebyendanger their health.”14 He goes on todecry the fact that horseradish was evenbeing used in parts of Germany andAmsterdam, where leafy vegetables areavailable during the spring.

That lettuce was the preferredchoice was never forgotten amongEastern European Jewry, and thus cus-toms developed wherein both vegetableswere used. For example, some peoplewould use lettuce for maror and horse-radish for korach.15 It is reported thatRav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik would eathorseradish and then lettuce to fulfillthe mitzvah of maror.

The ultimate legitimization ofhorseradish use occurred in 1822 whenRav Moshe Sofer wrote that horseradishmay indeed be preferable to lettuce, butfor an ancillary reason: It is difficult toclean the lettuce of bugs (Chatam Sofer,OC:132; cited in Mishnah Berurah473:42). He wrote that it would bewrong to violate the Biblical prohibitionagainst eating bugs in order to fulfill therabbinic mitzvah to eat maror.

Others preferred horseradish overlettuce for another reason. They arguedthat there are various types of lettuce,and today we are unsure which type(s)the Mishnah was referring to (Lewy, pp.

301 and 303). Thus, for example, RabbiYosef Eliyahu Henkin wrote in EzratTorah Luach that we can be confidentthat horseradish is indeed one of thefive bitter herbs mentioned in theMishnah but that there are doubts as towhether the various types of lettuceavailable today meet the criteria of the“lettuce”16 referred to in the Mishnah.

Dr. Ari Schaffer of the VolcaniInstitute for Agricultural Research, inIsrael, insightfully points out that usinghorseradish for maror affords a doublesymbolism: the original meaning of thebitter bondage in Egypt and the addi-tional reminder of our people’s long anddistant wandering away from the landof the Bible and Mishnah, the Land ofIsrael.

Many people use horseradish sim-ply because they are bothered by thelack of a bitter taste in lettuce. After all,the mitzvah of maror seems to be basedon the fact that the Egyptians embit-tered (vayemareru) the lives of theIsraelites (Shemot 1:14). The Gemara(Pesachim 39a), also seemingly troubledby the preference for lettuce, explainsthat the word lettuce (in Hebrew),chasah, is similar to chas,17 to take pity,and that it reminds us that God tookpity on the Jews in Egypt. The Gemarafurther explains that lettuce parallels theEgyptian experience. Just as lettucestarts out soft and then hardens as itages, so too the Egyptian servitudebegan with soft words and ended harsh-ly. (See Torah Temimah, Shemot 1:14,note 19.) The Yerushalmi (Pesachim 2:5)states this same idea in a slightly differ-ent way: Chazeret starts out sweet andbecomes bitter as it grows. In eithercase, it is important that while eatingthe maror one remember its associa-tions. Rabban Gamliel’s famous state-ment (Pesachim 10:5; 116b) is read atthe Seder so that all understand the sig-nificance of the maror.

The Gemara seems to require thatlettuce have some bitterness. Therefore,the Gemara states that dried stalks areacceptable for maror but dried leavesthat lack a bitter taste are not. Howeverthe Beit Yosef (on Tur OC 473) rules

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that even if the lettuce is sweet, it is thepreferred maror. The Chazon Ish (OC124, p. 39), who personally usedground horseradish (Korman, note 11),rules that when using lettuce one shoulduse mature heads that have a bittertaste. Rav Menashe Klein18 disagrees andsays that the practice among Jews is notto distinguish between sweet and bitter,and all types of lettuce are acceptable.Similarly, the Shulchan Aruch Harav(473:27); the Aruch Hashulchan(473:15) and Rav Moshe Feinstein (KolDodi 15:19) all state that lettuce—evenif it is sweet—is preferable to horserad-ish.

Rav Moshe Sternbuch (TeshuvotVehanhagot 2, p. 238) rhetorically askswhere it is stated that horseradish mustbe eaten when “it is so bitter that onewill almost throw up.” He suggests thatafter grinding the horseradish, oneshould leave it uncovered19 for severalhours so that it loses most of its bitter-ness and becomes edible. Of course, hecautions, it should not be left uncoveredso long that it totally loses its sharpness.

Another way to assuage the guiltof the lettuce eater is to re-examine thereason behind the commandment to eatmaror. Nowhere does the Torah directlylink maror with the bitter experience inEgypt. In fact, if this were the reason foreating maror, then the Biblical obliga-tion to eat maror would have remainedeven when we could no longer bring thekorban Pesach. Indeed, the OhrHachaim (on Exodus 12:8; also see IbnEzra’s comments on the verse) suggeststhat the Biblical obligation to eat maroris because it served as a condiment to beeaten along with the roasted sacrificialmeat. In his weekly e-mail parashahsheet, Rabbi Andrew Schein, ofModi’in, has suggested that this ration-ale is the basis for the fulfillment ofmaror with lettuce, as the lettuce makesthe meal complete: matzah, meat andvegetables. With this approach there isno need for lettuce to be particularlybitter. Furthermore, Rabbi Schein hassuggested that Rabban Gamliel’s state-ment linking maror with the bitterexperience may be a rationale for the

rabbinic enactment of maror, but this“new” reason did not invalidate the useof the Biblically acceptable vegetables(lettuce or endives) even if the Biblicalobligation of maror was no longer appli-cable.

In summary, there are sufficientgrounds for doubting horseradish’sinclusion in the Mishnaic list.Furthermore, even if we were to con-cede that tamcha refers to horseradish, itis still listed after lettuce in the pre-sumed order of preference. Moreover,horseradish is sharp not bitter, and itsroot—rather than its leaves—are eaten.Despite all this, family customs shouldnot quickly be abandoned, and horse-radish has a long-standing place at theSeder. There may even be reasons toprefer horseradish to lettuce (e.g., diffi-culty of cleaning lettuce of bugs), butgiven a choice that does not tamperwith a family tradition, it would seemthat on Seder night horseradish may bethe choice condiment to go with gefiltefish but not to fulfill the mitzvah ofmaror.20

Notes1. For more details on this topic,

see Arthur (Ari) Schaffer, “The Historyof Horseradish as the Bitter Herb ofPassover,” Gesher 8 (1981): 217-237;Yehuda Feliks, “The Identification ofTwo Categories of Bitter Herb—Hazeretand Tamkhah” (Hebrew), BDD 1 (sum-mer 1995): 71-90; Avraham Korman,“Maror: Chasah or Chrain,” HaMa’ayan(Nisan 5754): 43-51; Yosef Shoresh,“On Eating Chrain on the SederNight,” HaMa’ayan (Tammuz 5754):64; Josef Lewy, Minhag Yisrael Torah 2(5753), 300-304 and Rabbi MatisBlum, Torah Lodaas (New York, 1991),187-190.

2. On the status of the mitzvahtoday, see Rava’s statement on Pesachim120a; Rambam, Chametz Umatzah7:12; MB 473:33. See SA Harav OC475:15, which states that the eating ofmaror today is zecher leMikdash.

3. In the Talmud, the order issomewhat different. Also, the last itemmentioned—maror—refers to a specific

vegetable, and is not a generic term.4. See SA OC 473:5 and Aruch

Hashulchan OC 473:13. This seems tobe based on Rashi’s understanding ofRavina’s question to Rav Acha b’reideRava as to why he was looking for“maror” (the fifth item on the list),when chazeret was listed first and wasavailable. Confronted with this ques-tion, Rav Acha b’rei deRava stoppedlooking (Pesachim 39a).

5. Endives (Cichorium endiva) andchicory (Cichorium intybus) are closelyrelated and acceptable for maror, butnot often used. Belgian endive is thesame species as chicory and is used formaror by some people.

6. See e.g., MB 473:42 and Sha’arHatziyun 473:46.

7. Aware of the difference, theTalmud uses the word “mar” for bitterand “charif” for sharp.

8. See Schaffer, note 26, for theorigin of the name horseradish.

9. The Nachlat Yaakov, quoted inLeket Bahir, says that Rashi is explicitlyruling that one need not only use thefive listed, but could use any bitter herbto fulfill the mitzvah.

10. See Zohar Amar and AriZivotofsky, “Identification of theShibuta Fish” (Hebrew), HaMa’ayan 45,no. 3 (Nisan 5765): 41-46.

11. The Magen Avraham (473:12;cited in MB 473:36 and AH OC473:14). In addition, it seems that insome places, when people first beganusing horseradish, they used the leaves.

12. The Aruch Hashulchan (OC473:13), writing in nineteenth-centuryLithuania, says explicitly: “In our coun-try we use horseradish because lettuce isnot available before Pesach, except inthe courtyards of the princes.”

13. According to the ShulchanAruch (OC 475:1), the required amountis a kezayit (olive size). For a fascinatingdebate regarding the minimum amountof maror one is required to eat, seeSha’agot Aryeh (100); Chatam Sofer (OC140); Avnei Neizer (OC 383); Sho’elUmashiv (Mahadurah Shtiti’a 10);Sha’arei Teshuvah (end of 475) andIggerot Moshe (OC 3:66).

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14. For discussions regarding boiling or grinding horse-radish, see MB 473:36 and Sha’ar Hatziyun 473:46. SeeKorman, p. 47; Blum, p. 188 and Lewy, pp. 303-304 forother sources.

15. See Schaffer, note 74.16. The lettuce referred to is probably more similar to

romaine lettuce than the popular iceberg lettuce. Nonetheless,it is reported that Rav Aharon Kotler used iceberg lettuce formaror (Rabbi Shimon D. Eider, Halachos of Pesach 2 [NewJersey, 1985], p. 234, note 23).

17. According to Targum Onkelos and others, themeaning of Pesach is to have mercy. See Ari Zivotofsky,“What’s the Truth about ... the Meaning of “Pesach”?, JewishAction (spring 2004): 58-59.

18. Mishneh Halachoth 6, no. 92, pp. 99-100. See alsovol. 7, no. 68, pp. 107-110 for his rationale. See also Lewy,pp. 301-302.

19. This would have been anathema to all of my grand-parents, as it was for the Gra (see MB 473:36). RavSternbuch’s ruling is similar to that of Rav Moshe Feinstein(Kol Dodi 15:14).

20. All the proofs in the world often do not succeed inchanging a long-standing practice. It seems that the Netzivwas unable to persuade his son Rav Chaim Berlin (5592-5672), who had made aliyah and thus had access to leafy veg-etables, to use lettuce instead of horseradish. (See his fascinat-ing letter in Korman, note 10.)�JA

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