There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. If you have this, we now break the middle matzah into two pieces. Ordinarily, we would wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. And again, ordinarily, after dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize. Tonight we will just enjoy the feeling a breaking something and relieving some pent up frustration from being pent up!

Hold up the broken matzah

This matzah is a symbol of affliction and poverty. The storu of Passover tells us about the hardships and suffering that our ancestors endured. It reminds us of those who are in need today, so we say, "whoever is hungry, come share our food ... we'll leave it in a box 6 feet from our front door ... and celebrate Passover! To those who are poor or oppressed, we pray for them and hope the ocming year will bring a better life for all."


haggadah Section: Yachatz
Source: Multiple