צפון

Tzafun

 - Eddie Tobis and Mark Kostiner

  

Tzafun is the 11th step of the Passover Seder. It is the eating of the Afikoman as desert at the end of the meal. Since the Seder must conclude with matzah, no food can be eaten after the Afikoman. The translation of the word Tzafun is “the hidden thing.” This has to do with the Afikoman, which is the half matzah we hide near the beginning of the Seder. 

Why do we leave half of the matzah on the table and hide the other half? The first, and more obvious reason is to symbolize poverty. “This is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate in Egypt . . .” This is said over half of the matzah. We eat the Afikoman from the half of the broken matzah that had been put aside. This represents the “bread of affliction’.

A second reason is that this implies that we have only heard “half” of the story. The other “half” of the story will be told when we eat the Afikoman. But what is the other half of the story? It is the redemption. Our eating of the Afikoman completes the consumption of the entire matzah and therefore serves as a symbol of our ultimate redemption from all affliction and oppression. Thus, by eating the Afikoman we are introducing the second part of the Seder, which is dedicated to the redemption to come, the Mashiach. 

Another question that arises is, why do we hide the Afikoman? The Afikoman is hidden to remind us that the time when the Mashiach will come is still hidden from us. But we know that he will come sooner or later, whether it is now or in 100 years, and that is why we send the children to look for it at the end of the meal. Therefore when we eat the second half of the matzah at the end of the Seder, we are bringing the story of Exodus in a full circle. The “Bread of Poverty” from the beginning of the Seder has become the “Bread of Redemption.” Thus by finding and eating the Afikoman, we quicken the coming of the Mashiach.

 

Artscroll Mesorah Series Haggadah, R'Scherman/R' Zlotowitz
Arstcroll Youth Haggada.