This maror that we are eating, what is the reason? To commemorate that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is stated; "And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor." (Ex. 1:14) This maror: It may be that he is asking about chazeret,66 is usually understood as romaine lettuce. Many Seder plates have a place for maror and for hazeret. (for the mishnah states) that the commandment is to eat chazeret.67 Furthermore, it must be raw - it cannot be cooked or pickled. Rabban Gamliel answered, “Because they embittered our lives - when it is pickled or cooked it loses some of its taste. The reason it must be raw is because we were oppressed bifarekh, “with rigor.” That is, at first befeh rakh, “a soft tongue,” and in the end biferakh, “with rigor.” The commandment is to eat chazeret since at first it is sweet and it becomes bitter in the end.

One might ask, since we had other symbols of slavery - matzah and haroset which reminders of the mortar, and vegetables which remind us of the straw, why do we need maror? The Haggadah answers, “Because the Egyptians embittered their lives….” That is, through the difficulty of subjugation. This is an important essential; because of harsh subjugation we left Egypt before the time because it caused a premature exodus. That is why it is fitting to have a special sign for it. This is how Rabbi Moshe Alsheikh68 understands the Haggadah. He explains that “their lives” means “their souls.” because the Egyptians made them worship false gods. Until Israel slaughtered the Passover offering and accepted God’s divinity, they were transgressions. Willful or accidental sins became merits and there was a great relief to them that in the moment of repentance they became mitzvot. We eat maror to remind us of their righteousness. Further, because they were worshiped idols, they suffered and were bitter. Their bitterness became a merit to them. Therefore we eat maror because of the bitterness the Egyptians cause and the righteousness we received because of it.