A-fi-KO-men is actually a Greek word for “dessert.” During the Seder, we take one of the three matzot on the Seder plate and crack it in half. This is the “Ya-chatz” step in the 14 parts of the Seder. (Which makes for a very fun karate chop, “YA-chatz!!”) The larger half of the matzah is carefully placed in a special Afikomen bag. At some point the Afikomen is stolen and hidden. Sometimes parents do this, sometimes the children. It must be found though, because you cannot finish the Seder without dessert, right? Usually there’s some fun negotiating or straight out bribing to get it back. But it’s worth it.
2 Responses to “Afikomen”
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Posted in Hebrew Vocabulary, Holidays, Pesach
April 11th, 2008 at 10:58 am
[...] the journey challenging everyone with questions and queries, negotiating with my dad over the afikomen (for world peace of course), the hilarious drunken singing at the very very very end of the seder [...]
April 11th, 2008 at 10:58 am
[...] the journey challenging everyone with questions and queries, negotiating with my dad over the afikomen (for world peace of course), the hilarious drunken singing at the very very very end of the seder [...]