Maror

From Halachipedia

One of the unique mitzvot of Pesach is to eat the Maror (Hebrew. מרור; tr. bitter herbs) which signifies the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt.[1]

Obligation

  1. One must ensure to chew the Maror, and to not just swallow it without tasting it; otherwise, one doesn't fulfill his obligation. [2].

Which Vegetable?

  1. Even though Chazal enumerated five types of vegetables to satisfy the obligation of Maror, because we can't identify them one should use either Romaine lettuce or horseradish.[3] Some say that horseradish is absolutely not maror.[4]
  2. One shouldn't eat the Romaine lettuce together with horseradish.[5]
  3. The Gemara Pesachim 39a enumerates five types of maror.
    1. The first is chazeret and is identified as חסא. In many rishonim and achronim it is clearly identified as lettuce.[6] The gemara is clear that out of all five types of maror chazeret is most preferable.
    2. The second is תמכא and is identified as horseradish according to Rashi, Hagahot Maimoniot, Nemukei Yosef, Ri Mlunil, Maharil, Mahari Vayil, Magen Avraham, Chatom Sofer, and Mishna Brurah.[7] None of the poskim actually reject the identification of tamcha as horseradish, even though some have reservations about using it since it is hard to eat a kezayit and potentially could be dangerous. Nonetheless, because its identification isn’t clear some recommend eating the types of maror separately so that each type doesn’t invalidate the taste of the other. Steipler, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Schachter
    3. The fourth is עולשין and is identified by many as endives.[8]

How much Maror?

  1. One must eat 1 Kezayit of Maror with a Bracha of Al Achilat Maror.[9]

Charoset

  1. The Maror should be dipped into the Charoset. One should wipe off the charoset and not dip it for too long otherwise it’ll remove the taste of the Maror. [10] Some only dip it partially.[11]

Leaning

  1. One doesn’t have to lean when eating the Maror[12] but if one wants to one may do so. [13]

Sources

  1. ↑ Rashi Pesachim 39a s.v. lamah
  2. ↑ Pesachim 115b
  3. ↑ Mishna (Pesachim 39a), Shulchan Aruch 473:5, Piskei Teshuvot 473:15. See also Definition of Maror by Rav Zvi Sobolofsky. Chazon Ish OC 124 writes that maror has to be left in the ground so that it is actually bitter.
  4. ↑ Rav Schachter (Inyonei Pesach 4 5778 min 10) quotes Rav Aharon Kotler who ate iceberg lettuce and Rav Soloveitchik who held it was specifically Romaine lettuce since that is what chazal had in Israel at that time. He explained that horseradish isn't considered maror. Rabbi Gornish quotes some who think that iceberg lettuce is acceptable. Rav Shlomo Amar (Motzei Shabbat Tzav 5778 min 2) also agrees that horseradish isn't maror at all.
  5. ↑ Rav Schachter (Inyonei Pesach 4 5778 min 11) explained that one shouldn't eat the Romaine lettuce together with horseradish since the horseradish isn't a mitzvah its taste nullifies the taste of the maror and one doesn't fulfill one's obligation.
  6. ↑
    • Lettuce: The Mishna Pesachim 39a identifies that the primary example of maror is חזרת, chazeret. The gemara translates it as חסא. Yerushalmi (חסין) agrees. Rashi 39a s.v. chasa translates chazeret as ליטוגא. Nemukei Yosef (ליטוגא) and Ri Mlunil (ליטרגא) agree. Hagahot Maimoniot 7:13:20 translates chazeret as לטב"א in German and לטוג"א in French. Rambam Pirush Mishnayot (R' Korach, 2:6) translates it as אלכ"ס. Rabbi Korach fnt. 46 writes that חסא means the modern Hebrew חסה, lettuce.
      • Rav Yosef Henkin in Gevurat Eliyahu 126:9 writes that a person should specifically use horseradish and not lettuce since there are those who question whether our lettuce is the one of the gemara.
  7. ↑
    • Horseradish: The second example of maror in the Mishna Pesachim 39a is תמכא, tamcha.
      • Rashi s.v. tamchata defines it as מרוביי"א. Rashi on the Rif 11b translates it similarly (מירטיך). Talmid Harashba (מרוב"י), Nemukei Yosef (מריבי), and Ri Mlunil (מכובי) agree. Hagahot Maimoniot 7:13:20 translates tamcha as מיריטיך in German and מרבויא in French. The word מירמיך means horseradish.
      • Rif 11b translates it in arabic as אל שלים. Rosh 2:19 (של"ה) agrees with the arabic translation. Maharam Chalavah agrees and says that this translation (מרובי) is the same as that of the Rif (אל שלום). However, Meiri translates tamcha as קרישפילא"ה (which is what Rashi translated as ulshin). Rambam Pirush Mishnayot (R' Korach, 2:6) translates it as אלסרי"ס. Yerushalmi translates it as גנגידין. Both Peni Moshe (חרין) and Korban Haedah (מרוביא) assume that the translation is like that of Rashi on the bavli.
  8. ↑
    • Endives: Fourth on the list of acceptable vegetables for Maror is עולשין, ulshin. The gemara translates ulshin as hindivi.
      • Rashi 39a s.v. hindivi translates it as קרישפל"א. The Hagahot Maimoniot 7:13:20 translates ulshin as קירבי"ל in German, and קרישפיל"ה in French, הונדבי in Arabic, and שלוש in Spanish.
      • However, Talmid Harashba translates it as ליקצונ"ש. Nemukei Yosef (ליטיצינו"ש), Meiri (לייטיצונא"ס), and Ri Mlunil 39a (צונ"ש) agree. Maharam Chalavah 39a s.v. chazeret disagrees with this translation (ליקסונש) and instead translates it as אנדבי, like Rashi and the Hagahot Maimoniot.
      • Rambam Pirush Mishnayot (R' Korach, 2:6) translates it as אלהנדב"א. Yerushalmi translates it as טרוקסימון.
  9. ↑ Shulchan Aruch O.C. 475:1. see also Amount of Maror by Rav Zvi Sobolofsky
  10. ↑ Shulchan Aruch O.C. 475:1
  11. ↑ Mishna Brurah 475:13
  12. ↑ Shulchan Aruch O.C. 475:1
  13. ↑ Mishna Brurah 475:14. Magen Avraham (475:6) writes that if one did indeed lean while eating maror one nonetheless fulfills his obligation. Rabbi Shmuel Loew in Machatzit Ha-Shekel finds support for this from the fact that Hillel must have leaned while eating maror since he ate it together with the matzah. However, Mishna Brurah (475:14) writes that if one so desires one may lean while eating the maror. Rabbi Hezekiah Silva in Pri Chadash (475:1) defends this approach by arguing that leaning is not a contradiction to slavery, for after all even the matzah and the first two cups of wine serve as partial symbols of slavery and are nevertheless leaned for.
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