YACHATZ - BREAKING THE MIDDLE MATZAH 􏰠􏰡􏰞 􏰞􏰨

There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table.

We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. One piece is called the Afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. 

We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight of our ancestors from Egypt. As slaves, they 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 before it had the chance to rise, leaving it looking something like matzah.

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

This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat; all who are needy, come and celebrate Passover with us. This year we are here; next year we will be in Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free.

The Afikomen is hidden and must be found before the Seder can be finished.

Reflect: Our world is broken and we are often unintentionally the source of that breaking. What’s something (object, relationship, etc.) you intentionally or unintentionally broke this past year? 

The Jewish tradition teaches that it’s not up to us to finish the work of repairing all that is broken with the world, but that we still must engage and do all we can. What actions will you take this year to heal and repair?

Break the middle matzah of the three at the head of the table – the bigger half magically becomes the Afikoman (more on that later). See if you can snag it when the leader isn’t looking and hold it ransom – we can’t finish our seder without it!

Yachatz – breaking: Can you think of an example when something broken led to more wholeness? What feels fragile now for you? Consider the line in a song by Leonard Cohen: “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” What might this mean for you? How might this line reframe how we look at each other during tough moments?


haggadah Section: Yachatz