DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 640 KB)
The Proper Way to Dip the Marror in the Haroset

What is the proper way to dip the Marror in the Haroset at the Pesah Seder?

The Shulhan Aruch writes (Orah Haim 475:1) that one should "take a Kezayit of Marror and submerge it entirely in the Haroset. But he should not let it stay there, in order not to neutralize its bitter taste." According to the Shulhan Aruch, one must submerge the entire piece of Marror in the Haroset. The Shulhan Aruch then adds that one should shake the Marror so that only a small amount of Haroset remains.

The Peri Hadash (Rav Hizkiya Da Silva, 1659-1698), however, records the custom to dip just the tip of the Marror in the Haroset, and then shake off the Haroset.

Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in his work Or Le’sion (vol. 3, 15:19; listen to audio recording for precise citation), rules in accordance with the Shulhan Aruch’s ruling, that one must submerge the entire piece of Marror in Haroset, and then shake the Haroset off the Marror.

Hacham Ben Sion then addresses the question of whether this Halacha applies also when dipping the Marror for Korech (the "sandwich" of Masa and Marror eaten after the Marror). When one dips the Marror in Haroset for Korech, must he dip the entire piece of Marror in the Haroset, or does it suffice to dip only part of the Marror?

Hacham Ben Sion notes that the Shulhan Aruch does not mention the requirement to submerge the Marror in its entirety for Korech, as he does in the context of Marror. This might suggest that for Korech it suffices to dip only part of the Marror, and Hacham Ben Sion notes that this is indeed the prevalent practice. He writes that although it would seem more proper to dip the entire piece of Marror in the Haroset even for Korech, one may rely on the prevalent practice to dip only part of the Marror for Korech, and then shake off the Haroset.

Summary: Before one eats Marror at the Seder, he should submerge the entire piece of Marror in Haroset and then shake off the Haroset. When dipping the Marror for Korech, however, it suffices to dip only part of the Marror, and then shake off the Haroset.

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Giving a Monetary Gift on Condition That the Recipient Later Pays a Higher Amount
The Obligation of Repayment When One Does Not Know Who He Stole From
Proper Pronunciation of Words In “Az Yashir” Is Imperative
Is It Permissible For A Son To Treat His Father In The Case Where Blood Might Be Drawn
Is It Permissible To Smell/Inhale Dairy Products Within 6 Hours After Eating Meat
Yichud: Is It Permissible For A Man To Enter A Safe Deposit Room with a Female Bank Clerk
Reciting Ashrei and Giving Tzedaka During the Minha
The Status of a Kohen who Marries a Divorcee; Laws of "Tum'a" Relevant to a Kohen
Pronouncing Hashem's Name When Reading Verses Cited in the Talmud
May A Grandfather, Son, or Grandson Immediately Precede One Another For An Aliya At The Torah
Making "Hatarat Nedarim" When One Wishes to Discontinue a Voluntary Religious Practice, and Appointing Others To Make Hatara for You
Which Beracha to Recite When Eating Rice with Vegetables
Recommended Measures for Earning Atonement During the Weeks of "Shovevim"
The Danger of Certain Speech
Calling Somebody by a Derogatory Nickname
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found