Afikoman

Afikoman (Hebrew language: אפיקומן, based on Greek, "epikomen" or "epikomion", meaning "that which comes after" or "dessert") is a piece of matzah which is hidden in the early stages of the Passover Seder and eaten after the festive meal.

Hiding the "afikoman" is a kind of game introduced to keep the children at the seder awake throughout the evening. The children "steal" the piece of matzah, usually wrapped in a napkin, and find a hiding place for it until after the meal. When the time comes to eat it, the person leading the seder asks the children to give it back, in return for a small prize, because the seder cannot be resumed without it.

Preparation

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 is the "afikoman", which is wrapped in a napkin before being hidden.

Interpretations

The "afikoman" custom is explained in various ways. Some say it commemorates the slave mentality of the Israelites in Ancient Egypt. Not knowing where his next meal will come from, a slave will hide away part of his food to eat later. Another interpretation is that the "afikoman" recalls the poverty of the Jews in Egypt. Like the poor, they always had only a piece of bread, never a whole loaf. According to one explanation, the middle matza is broken into two pieces to symbolize the bread of affliction that the Jews ate in Egypt versus the bread of freedom after the exodus. According to another, splitting the matza recalls the splitting of the Red Seafact|date=August 2008.

Eating the "afikoman"

After eating the festive meal, pieces of the afikoman are distributed to each guest. If there are many, additional pieces may be added.

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.

According to Halakha, the "afikoman" must be consumed before midnight, just as the "korban Pesach" was eaten before midnight during the days of the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Zevachim 5:8). Thus, if the Seder is running late with much singing and discussion of the themes of the Exodus from Egypt, families may have to shorten the meal segment of the Seder and proceed quickly to the "afikoman".

Etymology

The Greek word on which "afikoman" is based has two meanings, according to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. Both Talmuds agree on the Halakha (stated in the Haggadah under the answer given to the Wise Son) that no other food should be eaten for the rest of the night after the "afikoman" is consumed. The Babylonian Talmud explains that the word "afikoman" derives from the Greek word for "dessert", the last thing eaten at a meal. The Jerusalem Talmud, however, derives the word "afikoman" from "epikomion", meaning "after-dinner revelry" or "entertainment". It was the custom of Romans and Greeks to move from one party or banquet to another. The Halakha prohibiting anything else being eaten after the "afikoman" therefore enjoins Jews to distinguish their Passover Seder from the pagan rituals of other nations.

References

*Kaplan, Aryeh (1978). "The MeAm Lo'ez Haggadah". Brooklyn, N.Y.: Maznaim Publishing Corporation.

External links

* [http://www.balashon.com/2006/04/afikoman.html Etymology of "afikoman"]