The Bitter Truth

Yet, the Shulchan Aruch states that the preferred choice for marror is the first item on the list, chazeres. The Tevuos Shor suggests that the Shulchan Aruch understood that the Mishna in Pesachim must also be an exception. The order of the Mishna is precise. We would have expected the first species of marror listed to be the bitter “marror,” its namesake. However, the species called “maror” appears fifth on the list. By placing “maror” last, the Mishna indicates that this species is not the best choice for marror. Thus, Romaine calm, but we must conclude that the first species listed, chazeres, is the preferred choice for marror.

HaRav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l, writes in his Kol Dodi Haggadah, “All kinds of lettuce are essentially the same species…. Consequently, it seems that one may use any kind of lettuce [for marror], especially any of those that are identical to romaine. Indeed, I have heard that a renowned gaon of recent times has permitted for marror the use of common lettuce.”

The renowned gaon is presumably Rav Aharon Kotler, zt”l. My zeide Rav Yosef Isaac Samson, of blessed memory, reported that when he attended Rav Aharon’s seder, he witnessed that the rosh yeshiva used iceberg lettuce.

Why would we use lettuce as our bitter herb if it really isn’t bitter? It might amuse the reader that some gardeners ask the opposite question. “Why is the romaine lettuce I grew in my garden so bitter? I carefully watered it and fertilized it. It’s now three feet tall, but it’s so bitter! It is so bitter that I don’t think it can be eaten in a salad.”

One of the most common mistakes amateur gardeners make when growing lettuce is waiting until the plant has fully matured before harvesting the leaves. Lettuce heads should be harvested when they are still young, as they become bitter as they mature.

Now, where are the seeds on a romaine lettuce head? People often grow romaine lettuce from seeds, right? If a romaine lettuce head had seeds, it wouldn’t be suitable for eating because by that time, the leaves would already be bitter. As the lettuce plant matures, it bolts, producing an elongated stalk that flowers and creates seeds. It is important that romaine lettuce be picked young while its leaves are still sweet before the plant starts to bolt.

Mature romaine lettuce is indeed bitter. The Chazon Ish (Pesachim 39a) was of the opinion that romaine lettuce should only be used as marror when its bitter taste is already detectable. However, Rav Dovid Feinstein writes, “It is well known that the common practice is to use lettuce even if it is not bitter at all.”

Individuals seeking to be stringent in their observance may decide against eating the common romaine lettuce for marror. To diversify, they grow their own romaine lettuce and leave it in the ground until it bolts. However, by this time, the lettuce has become extremely bitter. Did they fulfill the mitzvah in the best way? The answer is no; in fact, they have not fulfilled the mitzvah at all!

HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zt”l, explains that if someone consumes truly bitter romaine lettuce, they have not met their obligation to eat marror. Romaine lettuce is not typically eaten in such a bitter state, which makes it considered not derech achilah (the normal way to eat). Consuming it in this manner may not even necessitate a bracha.

This situation is analogous to the ruling of the Chofetz Chaim, who states that someone who uses raw horseradish as marror without first grinding it has not fulfilled the mitzvah and may have committed an aveirah (transgression) by choosing to eat unhealthy foods.

Rebbe Yonasan explains that lettuce is specifically apropos for use as marror. “Just as lettuce starts out soft and ends up hard, so, too, the Egyptians started out soft and ended up hard.”

As noted above, when romaine lettuce is young, it is sweet. When left in the ground, it becomes hard and bitter. Rashi says that this pattern is similar to the way the Egyptians treated us. Initially, they paid the Jews to work for them. The Egyptians treated us fairly. Later, they forced the Jewish nation to work without pay, under deteriorating conditions. Lettuce, which undergoes a transformation in bitterness, symbolizes the Egyptians’ changing attitude towards us, from friendly to outright hatred.

The Talmud Yerushalmi says that the change in Egyptian attitude is even more striking if we take into account some earlier history. When Yaakov and his sons initially settled in Egypt, Pharaoh welcomed them with open arms. He told them they could choose the best lands in Egypt to live in. In the end, the Jews were enslaved to perform backbreaking labor. Therefore, just as the Jewish nation’s sojourn in Egypt underwent a transformation, from their being welcome guests to becoming downtrodden slaves, we use lettuce for marror which undergoes a transformation of its own, from healthy and refreshing to downright inedible.