Afikoman

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Afikoman (Hebrew language: אפיקומן, based on Greek, epikomen or epikomion, meaning "that which comes after" or "dessert") is a piece of matzo which is hidden at the start of the Passover Seder and is eaten at the end of the festive meal. After the afikoman is eaten, one may not consume any other food for the rest of the night, aside from the Third and Fourth Cups of Wine and beverages such as water or tea.

The hiding away of the afikoman has become an opportunity to maintain the interest and excitement of the children at the table. If the leader of the Seder hides it, the children are encouraged to locate it and demand a prize for its safe return, such as money or a small gift. Alternately, the children hide the afikoman and the parent(s) look for it; when they give up, the children demand the ransom for revealing its location. This game reinforces the importance of the afikoman, as the Seder cannot continue until it is eaten for "dessert."

1 Preparation
2 Eating the afikoman
3 Etymology
4 Reference
5 See also

[edit] Preparation

The afikoman is prepared during the fourth ritual of the Seder, Yachatz. During this ritual, the leader of the Seder takes the middle piece of matzo out from the stack of three whole matzot on the Seder table. He breaks the matzo in two, returning the smaller piece to the stack and putting aside the larger piece to be eaten later during the ritual of Tzafun ("Hidden"). The latter piece is called the afikoman.

The afikoman is wrapped in a napkin, or placed in a specially-embroidered afikoman bag, before being hidden. Popular places for hiding the afikoman include: under someone's plate or napkin at the table; behind the pillow or cushion upon which the leader of the Seder leans; in-between books on a bookshelf (assuming that the books were thoroughly dusted and cleaned from all traces of chametz); or in a drawer.

Several reasons are given for the ritual of breaking the matzo and hiding the afikoman. One is that it recalls the situation of slavery in which the Israelites found themselves in Ancient Egypt. Not knowing where his next meal will come from, a slave will hide away part of his food to eat later. The hiding away of a piece of matzo echoes this attitude of servitude. The afikoman also recalls the poverty the Jews suffered in Egypt. Like the poor, they always had only a broken loaf of bread, never a whole one.

[edit] Eating the afikoman

After eating the festive meal and any dessert (such as ice cream or kosher for Passover confections), a piece from the afikoman is distributed to each participant at the Seder. If there are many guests at the table, each will receive a small piece of the afikoman supplemented by additional pieces of other matzo.

The Halakha prescribes that an olive-sized piece of matzo be eaten to fulfill the mitzvah of eating the afikoman. Many people eat an additional, olive-sized piece of matzo together with it. The first piece of matzo commemorates the korban Pesach (Paschal lamb), whose meat was eaten at the very end of the festive Seder meal in the days that the Temple in Jerusalem stood. The second piece commemorates the matzo that was eaten together with the meat of the Paschal Lamb in the days of the Temple, in fulfillment of the Torah commandment, "They shall eat [the Passover lamb] together with matzo and maror" (Exodus 12:8). The afikoman is eaten while reclining to the left.

According to Halakha, the afikoman must be consumed before midnight, just as the korban Pesach was eaten before midnight during the days of the Temple in Jerusalem (Mishnah Zevachim 5:8). Thus, if the Seder is running late with much singing and discussion of the themes of the Exodus from Egypt, families may have to shorten the meal segment of the Seder and proceed quickly to the afikoman.

[edit] Etymology

The Greek word on which afikoman is based has two meanings, according to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. Both Talmuds agree on the Halakha (stated in the Haggadah under the answer given to the Wise Son) that no other food should be eaten for the rest of the night after the afikoman is consumed. The Babylonian Talmud explains that the word "afikoman" derives from the Greek word for "dessert", the last thing eaten at a meal. The Jerusalem Talmud, however, derives the word afikoman from epikomion, meaning "after-dinner revelry" or "entertainment". It was the custom of Romans and Greeks to move from one party or banquet to another. The Halakha prohibiting anything else being eaten after the afikoman therefore enjoins Jews to distinguish their Passover Seder from the pagan rituals of other nations[1].