Parsley, Sages, Saltwater and Time We dip a green vegetable,
often parsley, into saltwater and recite the blessing for green
foods that grow in the ground. Why? The traditional reason,
according to the Sages of the ages, is to taste the salty tears
of slavery. But is there more? Of course! Isn't there always? 1.
Passover is the Festival of spring and the rebirth of nature
after the dormancy of winter. New green growth returns to the
fields, replacing the brown of winter. The parsely we dip
tonight is a tasteful reminder of our dependence on the ability
of the earth to regenerate the food that enables all life -
human and animal - to exist. The saltwater symbolizes the origin
of all life in the sea, and the interdependence of ocean and
land in the cycle of fertility. 2. The parsely also historically
represents the hyssop which was dipped into the salty (saline)
blood of a lamb to mark the door posts of the Israelites homes
in Egypt on that fateful night of the 10th plague and the
ensuing exodus. The custom of