What do vegetarians use for the zeroa (shankbone) on the seder
plate during pesach? Dr. Naomi G. Cohen of Haifa University
reports (1997) Her husband’s family has been vegetarian for over
70 years and that their Seder plate contains two hard eggs. “The
logic of this: the bone on the usual plate stands for the Korban
Pesach, and the egg for the Korban Hagigah which was eaten
BEFORE the little piece of the Korban Pesach in order to get
one’s fill of food first. Well, if the Korban Hagigah can be
symbolized by an egg, than why not the Korban Pesach as well?!”
This is an unusual and idiosyncratic solution. Robert and
Roberta Kalechofsky Haggadot Many vegetarians, those who use the
Haggadot of Robert and Roberta Kalechofsky, use a combination of
“dry” barley or wheat (wrapped in plastic wrap) along with
olives and grapes. This second option comes with a modern
midrash as its prooftext. As vegetarians, in place of the
shankbone, we place olives, grapes, and grains of unfermented
barley which symbolize the commandme