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Yachatz
Contributed by Alexis Banks

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight of our ancestors from Egypt. As slaves, they had faced many false starts before finally being let go. So when the word of their freedom came, they took whatever dough they had and ran with it before it had the chance to rise, leaving it looking something like matzah.

Uncover and hold up the three pieces of matzah and say:                                                            

This is the "lechem oni", or bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free. This year we are here; next year we will be in Israel.

We break the middle matzah in half and we remind ourselves that as long as anyone in the world is afflicted, none of us can be whole.

When saying that traditional line — let all who are hungry come and eat — we must also recognize the stark contrast between the generosity of the Jewish people expressed in this invitation, and the actual reality in which we live. We remind ourselves that it is this spirit of generosity that is the authentic Jewish spirit. It is meant to be a contrast to the messages of modern society, which continually try to tell us “there is not enough” and therefore that we can’t afford to share what we have with others. T

We also remember that slavery still exists, that people are still being bought and sold as property, that the Divine image within them is yet being denied. We make room at our Seder table and in our hearts for those around the world who are now where we have been. We have suffered while others stood by and pretended not to see, not to know.

We have eaten the bitter herb; we have been taken from our families and been brutalized. In the end, we have come to know in our very being that none can be until all are free. And so, we recommit ourselves to work for the freedom of these people. May the taste of this bread of affliction remain in our mouths until they can eat in peace and security.

The host will wrap up the larger of the broken pieces of matzah and hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the youngest guests will hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal.

haggadah Section: Yachatz

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