by Rabbi Baruch Davis, Editor-in-Chief, Daf Hashavua
The focus on children at many of our Seder Nights begins with their recital of Kadesh Urechatz, the song of the 15 stages of the Seder. Some of these words, such as Matzah and Maror, are very familiar to us, others less so. Tzafun (hidden) is one of those less familiar. Coming between Shulchan Oreich (the Meal) and Barech (Grace After Meals), it refers to the hiding of the larger piece of matzah, the Afikoman, broken off from the middle matzah at the start of the Seder. Searching for the Afikoman keeps our children alert and involved in the events of the Seder. As we shall see, however, there is another reason why we hide this matzah.
First, let’s understand what the Afikoman stands for. One view is that it represents the Pascal lamb which was consumed at the end of the Seder meal in Temple times Rabeinu Asher d. 1328). Another view is that it represents the matzah that was eaten with the Pascal lamb (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir d. 1158). Either way, we are not permitted to eat anything after we have eaten the Afikoman. This allows the taste of the matzah to linger in our mouths, which extends the sensory associations of the evening – slavery and redemption.
Why do we hide the Afikoman? I once heard that the two pieces of matzah broken early in the Seder are like two pieces of a puzzle. We have a story to tell, to piece together. We know some of it, but there is always more to uncover. As we progress through the Seder, we put pieces of the puzzle together and emerge with greater knowledge and understanding of the Pesach story. Thus, the hidden becomes revealed.
On a deeper level, the Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter d. 1905) suggests that the smaller part of the broken matzah symbolises the entire story of the Exodus. The larger, hidden matzah symbolises our future redemption, which will be even greater than the Exodus from Egypt, but, for now, is hidden from us. God not only saved us from Egypt. He has rescued us many times since and will ultimately bring Mashiach (the Messiah), announced by Eliyahu the prophet. This is why we open the door to welcome him. And this is why we save most of Hallel until after the meal, since it talks about our final redemption. This is also the theme of several of the songs in the second half of the Seder, such as Chasal Siddur Pesach, Leshana Haba’a and Adir Hu. By not eating after the Afikoman and allowing its taste to linger, we are carrying with us into the future the taste of freedom from Egypt to become God’s people.
We end the Seder with the song Chad Gadya, a rhyme with numerous interpretations, one of which speaks to this central theme. Many empires (symbolised by the cat, the dog, and so on) attacked the Jewish people, but they are gone and we (the goat) have endured. Our final redemption awaits us. Exactly how and when is tzafun, hidden from us, but God has promised that it will happen, just as He promised he would redeem us from Egypt.