Yahatz to Afikoman From Brokenness to Completion to Hope, prepared for the Rabbinical Assembly by Ita Paskind

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YACHATZ: Break the middle matzah; the larger piece becomes the afikoman.

Yahatz to Afikoman From Brokenness to Completion to Hope

Why, according to Deuteronomy 16:3, are we commanded to eat matzah each year?
• Why is it so important that we remember the experience of leaving Egypt throughout our lives?
• The Mishnah describes for us the trajectory that our seder must take. What are the most shameful elements of our narrative, in your opinion, and what are the most praiseworthy?
• As we begin to tell the story of the Exodus, we focus in on one shameful aspect: affliction. What is it about matzah that makes it lechem oni, “the bread of affliction”?
• Shmuel ties oni /affliction to oneen /conversing. Does matzah elicit conversation at your seder? How might you use the physical and spiritual aspects of matzah to deepen your seider conversation?

Deuteronomy 16:3
You are not to eat any hameitz with it; for seven days you are to eat with it matzah, the bread of affliction; for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste. Thus you will remember the day you left the land of Egypt as long as you live.

Mishnah Pesachim 10:4
We begin with [the account of Israel’s] shame and conclude with [Israel’s] glory.

Pesach Haggadah: Maggid
This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.
Let all who are hungry come and eat; All who are in need, come and participate in the Passover ritual.
This year, we are here; next year we will be in the Land of Israel. This year, we are slaves; next year we will be free.

Talmud Pesachim 115b
Shmuel said: it is written “the bread of affliction” (Deut. 16:3)—bread which elicits conversation...
Another interpretation: [ oni /“affliction” is spelled just like ani /”a poor person”.] Just as a poor person is accustomed to eat only broken-off pieces of bread, so here, too, we must made do with a broken-off piece of matzah.

[For consideration:]

• What is the significance of breaking a piece of the “bread of affliction”?
• What is broken in our world today that you consider as the middle matzah is broken at the seder?

TZAFUN: Ransom back the afikoman, distribute among all participants, and eat while leaning to the left.
(Note: There are many interpretations of what the afikoman is and where it originated; we are concerned here with its spiritual significance.)

Rabbi Neil Gillman, My People’s Passover Haggadah, Vol. 1, pg. 125
In Judaism, theological reflections are also articulated in another language, ritual behavior. Here, we echo the opening words of the Haggadah—“This is the bread of affliction”—by the ritual of breaking the middle matzah. It will eventually be made whole again through the act of eating: the first half at the beginning of the festive meal, and the other half at its conclusion, for the afikoman.

Wendy Zierler, My People’s Passover Haggadah, Vol. 1, pg. 144
As a social symbol, hiding the middle matzah can also be seen as representative of the ways in which we hide aspects of ourselves, fearing punishment at the hand of an intolerant society. We look forward, therefore, to finding the afikoman, to sharing with our community what we’ve hidden away, and to restoring wholeness.

[Consider:]
• How do you experience the eating of the afikoman?
• In what ways do you experience finding the afikoman as liberating, whether personally or communally?
• How does this midrash help us dig more deeply into the connection between the afikoman and its hidden nature? What does eating the afikoman symbolize, according to this text?

[Further questions:]
• What roles do hiddenness and revelation play in the Pesah narrative and in your life?
• How might you use these concepts to enhance your seider this year?

Midrash Mishlei on Proverbs 2:1
“Treasure up [ titzpon ] My commandments” (Proverbs 2:1)—if you succeed in storing away [ litzpon ] words of Torah in your hearts, I will sate you with the stored-up [ ha-tzafun ] goodness which I have laid away [ tzafanti ] for the future, as it is said, “How abundant is the goodness that you have in store [ tzafanta ] for those who fear You” (Psalms 31:20).

haggadah Section: Yachatz