New York – While so much of our Pesach observance hinges on the traditions passed down to us by our parents and grandparents, the continuing availability of new products poses interesting halachic questions as to their usage on this most traditional of holidays.
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As the debate on quinoa continues to wage on, another new product that has become available in recent years has caught the eye of at least one individual who wonders if perhaps it might earn a coveted spot on Seder tables worldwide.
The product in question is Frescada, an organically cross bred lettuce that shares characteristics of both of its components, romaine and iceberg lettuces, and it is Alexander Rappaport, executive director of Masbia, who was been pondering this relatively new greens’ suitability for the mitzvah of maror.
Frescada was introduced by Monsanto in April of 2012 and is billed as having the green color, nutritional value and flavor of romaine lettuce while providing two benefits of iceberg lettuce: sweetness and crunch.
Rappaport was intrigued after reading an article on Frescada in the December issue of Wired Magazine, and together with his two sons, ages 13 and 14, he set out to learn more about this new lettuce and its potential for use in place of conventional romaine lettuce for the Sedarim.
“The mitzvah of maror is the only mitzvah in the Torah where the taste is the essence of the mitzvah,” Rappaport told VIN News. “The Gemara says that if you swallow it without chewing it, or you eat it combined with something else, then you are not yotze the mitzvah of maror.”
Rappaport began his quest by first gaining a better understanding of the mitzvah of maror and its origins. Turning to the Shulchan Aruch Harav, written by the baal hatanya, R’ Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Rappaport tackled the question of why romaine lettuce, which has nowhere near the bitterness of horseradish, came to be used for maror in the first place.
“Maror needs to be techilaso rach, v’sofa kashe, the beginning is soft and the ending is hard,” said Rappaport. “The Yerushalmi says that maror should start out sweet and end off bitter, much like things were with the Mitzrim. They started out being sweet but then things became bitter, and romaine lettuce, whose flavor is first pleasant but then ends off with a slight bitterness, captures both of those tastes.”
According to Rappaport there are some in Bnei Brak who eat only adult lettuce that has bolted, following the custom of the Chazon Ish, who said that only the tougher and more mature lettuce should be used.
“It is totally different than what you see in the store. It can get as tall as your waist and the taller the leaf, the harder and the more bitter it is.”
The Shulchan Aruch lists a hierarchy for maror, detailing the most preferable items to be used for this unique mitzvah, in order. The first item on the list is called “chasa”, which has traditionally been interpreted as romaine lettuce, a vegetable that has been in existence for hundreds of years and, according to Monsanto, was actually depicted in drawings dating back to times of the Egyptian pharoahs.
Rappaport acknowledged that there are those who use items other than romaine lettuce for maror, a tradition that may have started either because of worries over bug infestation in leafy greens, the seasonal problems of obtaining leafy greens in certain geographical climates as well as the tradition of only eating items that could be peeled on Pesach.
“In the cycle of galus things came in and out of popularity on the Seder plate for different reasons, but today, especially with all the hechsherim available, people are even more excited to use romaine lettuce than in the past.”
A central issue to the suitability of Frescada as maror is whether or not iceberg lettuce can be used for maror. If that is the case, then Frescada, a cross between two items that are both appropriate for the mitzvah of maror, should not pose a problem.
Rappaport took his sons, his research and samples of Frescada to numerous rabbonim over the past two weeks to further determine the lettuce’s status vis a vis the Pesach seder, including R’ Gavriel Tzinner, R’ Shraga Hager and R’ Yitzchok Stein.
Given the time constraints of Pesach, they were relucatant to make any determinations regarding the halachic status of Frescada as maror. While one Williamsburg Rov and Rabbi Hershel Ausch of Agudah’s Chayim Aruchim program both said that Frescada should not be used at the sedarim, others viewed the leafy green in a more positive light.
Rabbi Moshe Elefant of the Orthodox Union got a firsthand look at Frescada this past Thursday night.
“It looks very much like romaine lettuce and if it looks like it, it must be it, which is a reason why one would assume that Frescada could be used,” said Rabbi Elefant. “It also has the characteristics of romaine lettuce in that the longer you leave it in the ground, the harder it gets, which is what happened with the Frescada as well.”
Rabbi Elefant explained that while it would seem counter-intuitive to use a sweeter lettuce for maror, it is actually very much in keeping with the reasons brought down by the Gemara for why romaine lettuce is the most preferable form of maror.
“One reason is that the name of romaine is ‘chasa’, which means ‘mercy’. At the same time that we eat maror, we recognize that the G-d had mercy on us. Even when things seem very bitter, we know that G-d has a master plan that we don’t see, so really things are not so bitter at all.”
Rabbi Elefant also noted that it has long been said that R’ Aron Kotler ate iceberg lettuce for maror, although he has never verified that fact with any member of the Kotler family.
“It is clear that this is certainly no worse than iceberg lettuce, so if this turns out to be cleaner than romaine, we might have something really big on our hands.”
While Rappaport has been researching the halachic possibilities of using Frescada at the Seder, he understands that no matter what is officially decided, many will continue their long standing practice of using romaine lettuce.
“That is the mesorah,” said Rappaport. “Personal feelings may be one thing, but actual halacha is another.”
For Rappaport, his research on Frescada has proven to be a rewarding experience, both for himself and his sons.
“This is the beauty of halacha, to go in and learn and learn and learn and to understand the reasons why we have been doing things for years.”
my grandfather a”h ate a pesach seder by Rav aharon kotler zt”l in kletzk. he at iceberg lettuce for maror there.
Frescada is a genetically modified creation of Monsanto. Not to be trusted.
Its a known fact that Rav Aharon Kotler used Iceberg lettuce. Call the Kotlers or any of the BMG poskim and they will tell u that. Lettuce ia a bitter and iceberg os no diff. In fact since tolaim are not often found in iceberg lettuce it more mehudar to use it. Comment number two, please stop the nonsense.
You could Fress Cada all you want but I’m going to stick to Romaine hearts as I saw in my Parents home.
I was very close to the Kashover Ruv, Rav Blum Z”TZL. I once mentioned to the Ruv that I had many questions about how others conduct a Seder and I had made a list. He had me read the entire list and then told me (in Yiddish, of course) “Do just like you saw your parents do at their Seder table. That is your minhag.”
The lettuce varieties used in Europe are not the same as those available here. In England people use kinds of butter lettuce, and short leaved similar to iceberg. Ask anyone who grew up in Europe if they ever heard of romaine, of course they did not but there are rounder lettuces and lettuces with long straight leaves everywhere
On a list of 10 priorities for pesach, worrying about romaine vs. iceberg versus some new GMO variety is item no. 183. Its hard enough to get ready for this yom tov without the annual debate over some new chumrah or quiona or an arcane kitniyos that only grows in hydroponic hothouses in Lakewood.