Yahatz - Breaking the Middle Matzah
Ha Lachma Anya
Ha lachma anya di achalu avahatana b'ara d'Mitzrayim. Kal dichfin yeitei v'yeichul. Kal ditzrich yeitei v'yifsach. Hashata hacha, l'shanah haba'ah b'ara d'Yisrael. Hashata avdei. L'shana haba'ah b'nei chorin.
This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need come and celebrate Passover. Now we are here. Next year in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves. Next year we will be free.
Leader:
No prayer is recited before we break the middle matzah on our Seder plate. This is a silent, reflective act.
Reader:
For we recognize that, like the broken matzah, we are incomplete, with prayers yet to be fulfilled, promises still to be redeemed.
​
We hide part of this broken matzah and hope it will be found by the end our Seder meal.
For we recognize that parts of ourselves are yet unknown. We are still discovering what makes us whole.
​
We hide the larger of the two parts of the matzah.
​
For we recognize that more is hidden than revealed.
Group:
With the generations that have come before us, and with one another, our search begins.
From Miriam’s Tapestry: Passover Seder Haggadah, compiled by Shari Lash and Nonni Keynes. A Project of Tapestry, Calgary, Alberta, 1995
Break the Middle Matzah
Afikomen
Back in the days before quarantine, the host would wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally "dessert" in Greek. After dinner, the kids would search for it. Tonight, guests will have to virtually hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal. There will be a clue after the meal.