Breaking the Matzah

Yachatz (breaking the matzah)

Now the seder leader picks up the middle of the three matzah from the matzoh plate and breaks it in half. The leader puts the smaller half of matzah back in between the other two pieces of matzah, but the larger half is reserved as the afikomen (“dessert”), which is eaten at the end of the meal.

As our family has traditionally done, the afikomen is taken away and hidden somewhere in the house by the youngest members of the seder, and near the end of the seder, the Seder Leader has to go looking for it. The afikomen has to be found in order to proceed to the conclusion of the seder. Of course, the Seder Leader is always unable to find the hidden “desert” and eventually has to pay a “ransom” to the kids to find it.

Tonight, due to Covid circumstances beyond our control, we will flip the roles and tonight the Seder Leader will hide the afikomen somewhere in the world and challenge all of us to find it.  (More on that later!)


haggadah Section: Yachatz