We lift the middle matzah and break it in two.

Hear the sound of glass broken at the end of every Jewish wedding.

Hear the echo of stone tablets cast down and shattered at the foot of the 

mountain.

Hear the crack of the whip on the backs of slaves.

We carry our brokenness with us.

We lift the middle matzah and break it in two.

The larger piece is hidden.

To remind us that more is concealed than revealed.

To remind us how much we do not know.

How much we do not see.

How much we have yet to understand.

The larger piece is hidden and wrapped in a napkin.

This is the afikomen.

It will be up to the children to find it before the seder can end.

In this game of hide and seek,

We remind ourselves that we do not begin to know all that our children 

will reveal to us.

We do not begin to understand the mysteries that they will uncover,

The broken pieces they will find,

The hidden fragments in need of repair

“Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

And he will turn the hearts of parents to children and the hearts of 

children to Parents [...]”

On this night, may the hearts of parents and children turn toward each 

other.

Together, may we make whole all that is broken.

                          - Sharon Cohen Anisfeld.


haggadah Section: Yachatz
Source: Sharon Cohen Anisfeld