Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Afikoman

The afikoman is prepared during the fourth part of the Seder, Yachatz. During this ritual, the leader of the Seder takes the middle piece of matzo out from the stack of three whole matzot on the Seder table. He breaks the matzo in two, returning the smaller piece to the stack and putting aside the larger piece to be eaten later during Tzafun ("Hidden", the eleventh part of the seder, which immediately follows the main meal). This latter piece is the afikoman.
After eating the festive meal and any dessert (such as ice cream or kosher for Passover confections), a piece from the afikoman is distributed to each participant at the Seder. If there are many guests at the table, each will receive a small piece of the afikoman supplemented by additional pieces of other matzo.
The Halakha prescribes that an olive-sized piece of matzo be eaten to fulfill the mitzvah of eating the afikoman. Many people eat an additional, olive-sized piece of matzo together with it. The first piece of matzo commemorates the korban Pesach (Paschal lamb), whose meat was eaten at the very end of the festive Seder meal in the days that the Temple in Jerusalem stood.
The second piece commemorates the matzo that was eaten together with the meat of the Paschal Lamb in the days of the Temple, in fulfillment of the Torah commandment, "They shall eat [the Passover lamb] together with matzo and maror" (Exodus 12:8). The afikoman is eaten while reclining to the left. (Wikipedia)

I think that the afikoman is cool. :) I don't know when the practice of breaking the second of three pieces of unleavened bread in half began, but there is some really neat symbolism there. Most of this I learned while in Israel, and six years is long enough to put some rather thick rust on my memory, so hopefully I get this right!
1. The second of three pieces is broken, half removed from the others. Jesus, the second member of the trinity, was temporarily removed from heaven when He came to earth.
2. The afikoman is also now broken to represent the Paschal Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God, slain during Passover in Jerusalem.
3. The afikoman is followed by the third of four glasses of wine served during the Seder. It is the only time that breaking bread is immediately followed by wine. Jesus took the bread and broke it, saying, "This is My body, which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Then He took the wine and said, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood."
While the Seder has undoubtedly changed over the years, these three practices make me love the afikoman's place in the annual celebration. Jesus is ever present in the Seder for those would would see Him there.

No comments: