Over the past 20 years or so it’s become the custom in some households to add to the traditional items on the Seder plate an orange, as a symbol of egalitarianism.
It originated with the American scholar Susan Heschel, who once read a remark by a rabbi that there was as much room in Judaism for a lesbian as for a crust of bread at the Seder. Not wishing to use bread on Pesach, she chose an orange instead.
In subsequent years, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) has suggested other emblems: such as beetroot, to show compassion towards animals, or olives, to pray for Israeli-Palestinian peace.
You will need a pretty big plate to accommodate this year’s recommendation — a pineapple. Prized in early America as a sign of welcome and prosperity, the RRC says, it should stand as a symbol of hospitality to the millions of refugees throughout the world who are “crossing through danger and into unknown lands”.
