Handmade shmura matzo used at the Passover Seder especially for the mitzvot of eating matzo and afikoman
Type
Dessert
Afikoman (Mishnaic Hebrew: אֲפִיקִימוֹן ʾăpîqîmôn;[1] Modern pronunciation: אֲפִיקוֹמָן ʾăpîqômān) based on Greek epikomon [ἐπὶ κῶμον] or epikomion [ἐπικώμιον], meaning "that which comes after" or "dessert"),[2] a word originally having the connotation of "refreshments eaten after the meal",[3] is now almost strictly associated with the half-piece of matzo which is broken in two during the early stages of the Passover Seder and set aside to be eaten as a dessert after the meal.[4]
Based on the Mishnah in Pesahim 119b, the afikoman is a substitute for the Passover sacrifice, which was the last thing eaten at the Passover meal during the eras of the First and Second Temples and during the period of the Tabernacle. The Talmud states that it is forbidden to have any other food after the afikoman, so that the taste of the matzo that was eaten after the meal remains in the participants' mouths.[5] Since the destruction of the Temple and the discontinuation of the Korban Pesach, Jews eat a piece of matzo now known as afikomen to finish the Passover Seder meal.[4]
Customs around the afikoman vary, though they often share the common purpose of keeping children awake and alert during the Seder until the afikoman is eaten. Following Ashkenazi customs, the head of household may hide the afikoman for the children to find, or alternatively, the children may steal the afikoman and ransom it back. Chabad tradition discourages stealing the afikoman lest it lead to bad habits.
Following Mizrahi customs, the afikoman may be tied in a sling to a child's back for the duration of the Seder.[6]
^So spelled and vocalized in de Rossi 138 (Parma A) and Kaufmann A50; also spelled אפיקמון in the Cambridge manuscript and by Joseph Ashkenazi (as cited by Adeni).
Afikoman (Mishnaic Hebrew: אֲפִיקִימוֹן ʾăpîqîmôn; Modern pronunciation: אֲפִיקוֹמָן ʾăpîqômān) based on Greek epikomon [ἐπὶ κῶμον] or epikomion [ἐπικώμιον]...
(יחץ) Halving – breaking the middle matzah; the larger piece becomes the afikoman Maggid (מגיד) Telling – retelling the Passover story, including the recital...
afikoman. Many families use the afikoman as a device for keeping the children awake and alert throughout the Seder proceedings by hiding the afikoman...
least olive-sized portion of matzo to be eaten as afikoman. After the consumption of the afikoman, traditionally, no other food may be eaten for the...
napkins. The middle matzah will be broken and half of it put aside for the afikoman. The top and another half of the middle matzot will be used for the hamotzi...
the alternate Ha K'Lachma Anya. In the Sister Haggadah, 14th century. Afikoman Ma Nishtana Zion 1996, p. 37. Tabory 2008, p. 2. Telushkin 2001, p. 643...
considered a reminder of the Passover sacrifice. This matzah is called afikoman, and many explain it as a symbol of salvation in the future. The Passover...
attendance, recited the Four Questions and engaged in the search for the afikoman. Obama hosted the White House Passover Seder for all eight years of his...
matzah will be awarded a prize. In other homes, the children hide the afikoman and a parent must look for it; when the parents give up, the children demand...
v t e Passover Seder Afikoman The Exodus Ha Lachma Anya Ma Nishtana "Outstretched Arm" Ten Plagues White House Passover Seder Haggadah Foods Religious...
Passover, that "one does not conclude after the Passover meal with the Afikoman". To the wicked son, one answers with a response intended to blunt his...
sunset and sunrise. The evening Shema should be recited by now, and the Afikoman on Passover should be eaten by this time. The Talmud in Berachot rules...
half of a digital artwork depicting two halves of a matzo in a digital afikoman, with the other hidden for participants, sold for 2.2 Ethereum or about...
prohibition of eating meat with milk, Joshua ben Perachiah Volume 2: Eating the Afikoman after midnight, women leaning at the Passover Seder, one who has only a...
for Christian-Jewish Understanding. ——— (1968). The Significance of the Afikoman. London: Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues. ——— (1969). Roman...
Professional Anthropologists (WAPA), 2001–02 The monograph “The Passover Seder: Afikoman in Exile – An Anthropological Perspective on Jewish Culture” (1980) established...
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