Finding and eating the Afikomen |  tzafoon  | צָפוּן

The afikomen is a piece of broken-off matzah that is put aside to be eaten at the end of the meal. It is traditionally hidden during the Seder to be searched for by the children present. The Seder does not conclude until the afikoman is found and eaten.

We can also understand the afikoman as a symbol for that which is lost by one generation, in suffering or oppression, that can be found again by the generations to come. Some of what we inherit is actually from unresolved pain and confusion from generations above us. Part of what’s the afikomen does is remind us that any problems our ancestors didn’t solve are now ours to work on. And any problems we don’t fix or finish, our next generations must work on themselves.


haggadah Section: Tzafun
Source: Four Cups: A Seder for Hatching and Jewish Boston