Q. The reason given for the need of Urchatz or washing hands at the beginning of the Seder is to be able to eat the Karpas that are wet vegetables soaked in salt water, and thus require Netilat Yadaim (Shulchan Aruch O.H. 158: 4).
This is hard to understand since in our days we eat the potatoes and radishes etc. only with forks or spoons and since we don't touch them, there should not be a need for washing?
A. On question 941 we wrote: Although any food that you recite the Ha’adamah blessing on it and is not suitable for maror, is in principle fit for karpas use, the Arizal (Shaar Hakavonos – Pesach, drush 6) exhorts the use of the vegetable named Karpas, to maintain the importance and meaning of the minhagim instituted by our sages. (see also Kaf Hachaim 473: 49, Haggada Moadim Uzmanim p. 46.)
Rashi (Sukkah 39b) says that Karpas could be translated as cress (Artscroll translation) which is similar to parsley. However, he heard (from his rabbis) that Karpas is translated as Apio. Rashi seems to prefer the first interpretation. Yerushalmi (Shviis 9:1) and many Poskim (Mogen Avrohom 473: 4 et. al.) also mention the name “petrosilia,” (Petrishke or petrushil in Yidish) which is parsley (perejil in Spanish)
However, Chasam Sofer 132 quoting his teacher Rabbi Nosson Adler asserts that the Apio vegetable quoted by Rashi, is celery (corresponds to the modern Spanish translation.) An anecdote relates that the Chasam Sofer in year 5545 spent an early Pesach with his Rebbi in Vienna, that year the rivers and ground were still frozen. He paid an exorbitant price for some very hard to find greenhouse grown celery leafs. (Moriah. Shvat 5750: p. 227 – An acronym quoted in his name for Apio is E-l Poel Yeshuos Ato).
Machazit HaShekel (473:4) in name of medical books, and Beis Sheorim 213 concur that Karpas is celery. Halichos Shlomo writes that Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach when he was younger ate celery and in his later years had cucumber as Karpas.
Jastrow and modern Hebrew dictionaries translate Karpas as parsley, some mention also celery.
Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that if indeed the parsley ur celery leafs were thoroughly cleaned, inspected and found insect free, one can use them for Karpas and recite Ha’adama"
Indeed if one uses radishes or potatoes as Karpas, likely he will use cutlery to soak them and eat them. However, celery or parsley can be soaked and eaten by hand, and thus requires Netilas Yodaim. (Some Poskim mention the use of scallions).
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller and Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu Shlit'a
Important Numbers
