Something is missing. Without it, our seder cannot continue. Right before we started telling the story of the Exodus, we broke a piece of matzah. Half of it was hidden away in an unknown place. This missing piece, the afikomen, is the only matzah we have left, and though it’s just a broken shard, we cannot forget it or leave it behind. Contrary to what the wicked child’s father said, all of us were redeemed together in Mitzrayim, even those of us who chose to cut ourselves off from the community or were marginalized against our will. And when the revolution comes and prisons are abolished, we will find the compassion and the strength to give each and every prisoner the chance for redemption. So before we can continue on our journey tonight, we must stop and find the afikomen hidden inside all of us—the precious potential for greatness we carry on our way out of Mitzrayim.


haggadah Section: Tzafun
Source: Min Ha-Meitzar: An Abolitionist Haggadah from the Narrow Place by Noraa Kaplan