Updated: 2023.12.22

מָרוֹר

מָרוֹר In Biblical-Era Yi•sᵊr•ã•eilꞋ

מָרוֹר

מָרוֹר—False Sowthistle (Reichardia tingitana), develops puffball seed head like a dandelion (photo: flora-org-il)

Mi•shᵊn•ãhꞋ Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ lists 5 varieties of מָרוֹר, while the accompanying Aramaic & Hebrew Gᵊmãr•ãꞋ elucidates more contemporary inter­pre­ta­tions of each variety.

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis of Christian-era, Dark Ages Europe syncretized (assimi­lat­ed into Ta•lᵊmudꞋ) local European traditions, pro­duc­ing new, reformed re­def­i­ni­tions of מָרוֹר, including mis­trans­lat­ing חֲזֶרֶת as European horseradish, which—like the ët•rōgꞋ—didn't even exist in the flora of Biblical Yi•sᵊr•ã•eilꞋ!

מָרוֹר (Cichorium pumilum) Dwarf Chicory (Zohary, p. 100; photo: Alexey Sergeev)

Eastern Aramaic Gᵊmãr•ãꞋ to Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ Bã•vᵊl•iꞋ, Ma•sëkꞋët Pᵊsãkh•imꞋ 39a listed 5 varieties of מָרוֹר; the 5^th being מָרוֹר itself. Since most rabbis hold that these are listed in order of diminishing efficacy, it's oxymoronic that they hold מָרוֹר to be the least satisfactory variety of מָרוֹר!

Mi•tᵊbãlꞋ Mã•rōrꞋ 

Although Mã•rōrꞋ is rigidly stipulated, the dip for the Mã•rōrꞋ was any (kã•shærꞋ) customary household dip—from a garlic sauce to a relish sauce, to a hot chili sauce to chopped garden veggies & pickles and any combination of these as you prefer. Preferably, each participant at the SæꞋdër should be able to garnish the Mã•rōrꞋ in their Hi•lælꞋ with their favorite (kã•shærꞋ) veggie dip; from khūmꞋūs to garlic, onion, pickles and/or hot chili peppers, to salsa or BBQ sauce—as long as Mã•rōrꞋ remains prominent.

While the earliest traditional Jewish Mi•tᵊbãlꞋ (dip) associated with Mã•rōrꞋ today is the Tei•mãn•iꞋ DūkꞋã (European kha•rōꞋsët is far more recent), the BCE 1^st century "כּוֹרֵךְ הִלֵּל" (Hi•lælꞋ Sandwich—or just a "Hi•lælꞋ", cited in Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ Bã•vᵊl•iꞋ Ma•sëkꞋët Pᵊsãkh•imꞋ 115a (קטו) and Ma•sëkꞋët Zᵊvãkh•imꞋ 79a (עט); Arabized, a millennium later, to شاورما (Shwarma).

Mi•shᵊn•ãhꞋ Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ cannot be documented before the Leiden ms.

The earliest extant ms.—the "Leiden (Netherlands) ms."—reflects European Ash•kᵊnazꞋim, Ultra-Orthodox Rabbinic interpretations—which incorporate their assimilations & reforms up until 1289 CE! 13^th CE European Ash•kᵊnazꞋim—Ultra-Orthodox Rabbinic "Judaism" is not equivalent to the Tōr•ãhꞋ Principles conveyed by Mōsh•ëhꞋ Bën-AmᵊrãmꞋ, not in Europe but at Har Sin•aiꞋ, more than 23 centuries earlier in c. BCE !

1. חֲזֶרֶת

   Min fertility god, standing before 2 (3?, or 1 similar variety of lettuce?) stalks of Romaine lettuce (Temple of ᴷhãt-hōrꞋ, near Deir-El-Medina, Egypt)

   Romaine lettuce was not only well-known and plentiful in ancient Mediterranean countries, it was believed to be the favorite food of the Egyptian fertility (sex) god, Min and the most popular and desired food of ancient Mi•tzᵊr•ayꞋim: believed to be the divine aphrodisiac. Depictions of Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa longifolia) garnish a number of Egyptian wall paintings.

   חֲזֶרֶת — Romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa longifolia)

   Lettuce ≠ Mercy!

   It wasn't until the 5^th century CE Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ Bã•vᵊl•iꞋ, that חֲזֶרֶת morphed to "horseradish", enabling Aramaic חַסָּא and Hebrew חַסָּה to morph from their original theme of caring-refuge to "lettuce". This was closely emulated by the Christian Syriac ܚܣܐ .—which focused on the connotation of "mercy", acquiring the meaning of "the Mercy Seat" (properly Ka•pōrꞋët—which had also become corrupted into LXX ἱλαστηρίον and/or the Vulgate pro­pi­ti­a­to­ri­o — "Mercy Seat").
   

2. תַמְכָא

   תַמְכָא — Wild carrot (Daucus gingidium)

   Note: Daucus gingidium is a cousin of Queen Anne's Lace (which is another variety of wild carrot), as well as poisonous cousins: poison hemlock, fool’s parsley and water hemlocks.

   Ta•lᵊmūdꞋ Yᵊrū•sha•lᵊm•iꞋ Ma•sëkꞋët Pᵊsãkh•imꞋ 2.5 (18a) identifies תַמְכָא with the Hebrew transliteration גִּנְגִּידִין, correlating to the Greek γῐγγῐ́δῐον, which, according to a painting of a plant by Dioscorides, closely resembles (Daucus gingidium) the wild carrot or parsnip of the ancient Levant. These carrot or parsnip root tubers could be the basis for Medieval European Ultra-Orthodox rabbis adopting horseradish—though why they adopted horseradish as חֲזֶרֶת rather than תַמְכָא detracts from such reasoning.

   The uncertainty of identification, compounded by the danger of some of the poisonous varieties of תַמְכָא, combine with the Tōr•ãhꞋ Principle of pi•quꞋakh nëphꞋësh to leave such decisions to botanical experts—which I'm not. (Nor am I aware of the reliability of the illustrative photo identification, or the photographer's botanical qualifications.) My advice: skip תַמְכָא and include, instead, from one or a combination of the other 4 alternatives.

   
   

3. 1. חַרְחֲבִינָא מַכְחִילָה — (Apiaceae Eryngium creticum) Tender 1st leaves not dissected

      חַרְחֲבִינָא מַכְחִילָה — (Apiaceae Eryngium creticum, bluing plant sends up flower stalk

      חַרְחֲבִינָא מַכְחִילָה — mature

      חַרְחֲבִינָא — Jastrow explains  חַרְחֲבִינָא as a portmanteau of  חֲרַח and  בִּינָא, identified as Apiaceae Eryngium creticum Lam.,  חַרְחֲבִינָא מַכְחִילָה

      Fellow Eryngium species, foetidum, doesn't grow in either Sin•aiꞋ nor Yi•sᵊr•ã•eilꞋ. Therefore, although being closely associated culinarily with cousin species Coriandrum sativum (below), E. foetidum cannot have been a kind of ancient mã•rōrꞋ.

      
      

   2. Cilantro (Apia­ceae Coriandrum sativum)

      A cousin species is Apia­ceae Coriandrum sativum — Cilantro (MH: כֻּסְבָּרָה), which is the major ingredient in an ancient Israeli (Tei•mãn•imꞋ) dip — skhūg!




4. עוּלְשִׁין

   עוּלְשִׁין endives (Cichorium endivia)
   

5. מָרוֹר

   מָרוֹר — Sow Thistle Dandelion (Sonchus oleraceus).