Transcript BBGS Plants of Passover

Plants of Passover
‘Bitter is Better’
With Dr Ed Bez
Biblical Botanical Gardens Society
General Introduction to
Biblical Flora
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The Bible and its flora
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No flora... no Bible
The story begins, pivots and ends in a garden
Short flora quiz
Biblical flora and its uses
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Food and beverage
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Culinary flavoring
Medicine and cures
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Aromatics – health, wholeness, and well-being
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Clothes - from head to toe
Tools - peaceful and wartime uses
Ritual
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Mental health, sexual health
Worship, meals, offerings
Talisman
Aesthetics, design and architecture
Metaphors, similes and other literary uses
What is Passover?
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Passover
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First amongst many
New beginning (Abib becomes
Nisan, our March-April
Religious and Agricultural
calendars
Out of Africa
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Deliverance from Egyptian
bondage
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Passover angel – “great” day
Executing angel – “terrible” day
or the Day of the Lord
Delivery into the Land of
Promise
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Dominion
Domestication
Devotion
What are the Flora of Passover?
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Hyssop
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Hyssopus officinalis
Sorghum vulgare
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Wheat or barley
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Grains
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Gr - hussopos
Heb – esob or lit. ‘holy herb’
Used in cleansing, purifying
& consecrating sacred places
and people
Triticum durum
Hordeum vulgare
Unleavened bread or matzah
Bitter herbs
What is the Passover Meal?
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Specific items on the Seder plate
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Z’roa or shank bone
Beitzah or hard-boiled egg
Karpas or ‘veggie’ dipped in salt
Chazeret or bitter herb
Charoset or sweet pebbly mixture
Maror or bitter herb
1/3 of meal was comprised of “bitter herbs”
Why Double Bitters?
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The 1st maror – Soteriological
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The 2nd maror - Eschatological
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Past bitter experiences out of our control
Past bitter experiences we brought upon ourselves
The end of the bitter
Future bitter end of the ungodly
Future end of those that retain bitterness
The double bitters – Health and wholeness
What ‘bitter herbs’ were used for the
Passover meal?
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Hebrew Bible (HB) references
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Most ancient species of ‘bitter herbs’ likely included:
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Dandelion, Endive, Horehound , Sorrel, Sow-Thistle
Watercress
Other acceptable Rabbinic ‘bitter herbs’
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“And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; with
bitter herbs they shall eat it.”
Exodus 12:8
“The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”
Numbers 9:11
Lamentations 3:15
Chicory, Hawkweed, Mint, Wormwood (Lamentations 3:15)
Most commonly used ‘bitter herb' today
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lettuce
horseradish
“Bitter” the Unwelcome Quality
in Today’s Cuisine
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Modern food groups
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Meat
Dairy
Fruit and vegetables
Grains
Middle Eastern herbal tradition
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Taste is the focus of this ancient “balanced diet”
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Sweet
Salty
Sour
Bitter
So Why Bitter?
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Why are some of the
most densely nutritious
edible herbs so bitter?
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What law of nature is
this?
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Sour and bitter foods
protect against disease
The body needs the taste
of bitter to stimulate
various metabolic
processes associated with
the liver and digestion.
Herbs of the Bible Summary
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Historically, herbs like spices, grains, fruits, flowers
and trees are rich in legend, fact, lore, romance, and
business. Wars have been fought, trade routes
established, lives sold, and cultures and countries
founded, all in the name of plants we call herbs.
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Biblically, herbs not only titillated the palate but were
central elements in worship environments of both the
Hebrew and Christian sacred texts.
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Practically, bitters are important to our health and
general welfare.
Bitter Herb Gallery
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Dandelion
Wormwood
Chicory
Bitter Herb Gallery 2
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Horseradish
Bitter Herb Gallery 3
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Endive
Horehound
Watercress
Bitter Herb Gallery 4
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Sow Thistle
Bitter Herb Gallery 5
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Sorrel
Bitter Herb Galley 6
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Hyssop