There is a discussion within the poskim as to what sorts of vegetables are meant to be used for maror, that which we colloquially define as “the bitter herb”.  Some poskim prefer the romaine lettuce to the white horseradish, which we know is the custom at many of our sedarim. 

Why would romaine leaves be a preferable option to white horseradish, which has more bitter taste?  It is rather difficult to explain the ritual to our children as being based on the misery and hardship experienced by the Jewish slaves if the reenactment on leil ha’seder is a rather pleasant endeavor, or at worst, something which mildly disagrees with our palette! 

The classic explanation is that the romaine leaves begin with a sweeter taste and end with a bitter and unpleasant taste, as was the nature of the Egyptian servitude.

In this vein Rav Mordechai Yosef of Radzhin, the Ishbitzer z”l, in his Haggada, cites:

And the Egyptians forced the Children of Israel to perform excruciating labor, R’ Elazer explained, with a ‘soft mouth’

Sotah 11b

ויעבידו מצרים את בני ישראל בפרך רבי אלעזר אמר בפה רך

סוטה יא:

In other words, there are two distinct traditions as to the nature of the bitterness and the harsh labor in Egypt: 1) that they performed impossible, back breaking work, or 2) that they were seduced with a sweet tongue in a pleasant and alluring manner.

R’ Mordechai Yosef adds a fascinating point in explaining this text: According to R’ Elazer, the greatest tragedy is not the back breaking labor, but that the Jewish people were led to believe that their experience was not in fact a bitter one at all.  They were initially encouraged in their labor and made to feel that it was not particularly arduous.   

The greatest exile, he explains, is one of the mind.  It is an exile in which man has no idea that he is lost, and no concept of his own pain and grief. That is the פה רך, it is the alluring voice which tells us that “it’s not truly bitter”, that work makes freedom, and that it is actually enjoyable.  This perhaps may give us pause when we reflect upon the “fulfilling” nature of certain professions, which have often become nothing short of slave labor, asking employees to put in fourteen hour days, but in an environment equipped with workout rooms, and daycare centers, and other amenities designed to subdue the bite of an endless workday. 

Traditionally, the focus of the evening of the seder is to begin in crisis and end in the praise, מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח.  We fulfill the mitzvah of maror to remind us that sometimes even גנות, suffering, can take the shape of שבח as well.