24 Mar PESACH: THE TWO DIPPINGS

As the child observes
during the singing of
Ma Nishtana, there are
two points during the
seder when we dip
some food before
eating it. Early in the seder, after kiddush,
we dip the karpas (a piece of vegetable)
in saltwater, or vinegar (depending on
one’s family custom), and later, right
before the meal, we dip the marror in
haroset. What might these two dippings
represent?
The Ben Ish Hai explained that the two
dippings, which are performed before
and after the main part of the seder,
correspond to two dippings that in
essence bookended the period of exile in
Egypt. The first dipping commemorates
Mechiras Yosef, Yosef’s sale as a slave
by his brothers, when they dipped his
special garment in goat’s blood to make it
appear as though he was attacked by a
wild animal. As we prepare to tell the
story of our ancestors’ bondage in Egypt,
we bring to mind how it started – with
hated among brothers, with divisiveness,

with jealousy, with brothers turning
against one another. Then, after we learn
about the process of Yetziat Mitzrayim,
we dip a second time to commemorate
the night Beneh Yisrael left Egypt. In
preparation for this night, they
slaughtered a sheep and dipped branches
in the blood, which they then smeared on
their doorposts. These branches were
bound together into a bundle, symbolizing
unity, as the people corrected the scourge
of hatred and divisiveness that had caused
their exile and joined together in peace
and harmony.
I also saw an additional explanation of
the two dippings.
The first time, we take the karpas, a tasty

vegetable, and dip it into something foul-
tasting. The second time, we do just the

opposite – we take the bitter marror and
dip it into the sweet haroset. The karpas
and the marror represent the two different
kinds of stages we go through in life. At
times, we enjoy “karpas” – good fortune,
happiness and success. But we all go
through phases of “marror,” of
“bitterness.” Every person, without

exception, struggles at various points in
life. Whether it’s devastating loss,
financial hardships, problems within the
family, or challenges with physical or
mental health, we all deal with “marror”
of one kind or another.
The two dippings instruct us how to
handle both the joys and the bitterness.
During times of joy and good fortune, we
need to exercise caution not to become
too confident or arrogant. We must not
become overly self-assured, certain that
we will always enjoy unbridled happiness
and success. We must remind ourselves
that life is fragile, that we are always
vulnerable. The dipping of the karpas
into the saltwater thus represents the
tempering of our joy, teaching that while
we are certainly entitled to enjoy our
good fortune, we must ensure not to see
ourselves as invincible, or that our
continued success is guaranteed.
But in times of “bitterness,” when we are
struggling, when life has taken a wrong
turn, when we feel pain, sorrow or
anxiety, we need to do the opposite – we
need to “dip” these feelings into the

“haroset,” and make them “sweeter.” We
must believe that Hashem is always
helping us, and even the direst, most
painful situation can be reversed. Instead
of wallowing in sadness and self-pity, we
need to “sweeten” our feelings through
emunah, by reminding ourselves that
Hashem is in control.
The message of the two dippings, then, is
we must never get too high or too low.
Both in times of joy and in times of
struggle, we need to place our faith in
Hashem, and trust that He is managing
our lives, and that we can and must
always rely only on Him.