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The Afikomen is one of the most well-known features of the Pesach
Seder. At the Seder it is traditional to have three matzot.
During the first part of the Seder, the middle matzah of the
three is broken in half. The smaller half is put back with the
two remaining whole matzot. The larger half in called the
Afikomen. It is wrapped in a napkin or a special bag called the
Afikomen Bag.
The Leader of the Seder 'hides' the Afikomen under his pillow.
Usually, the children at the Seder 'steal' it. Later, the
children hold the Afikomen 'ransom'. More or less, the children
can get whatever they like for the Afikomen, because everyone
knows that the Seder cannot come to an end without the Afikomen!
When the Afikomen has been ransomed back, the Leader of the Seder
shares it our round the table. Ideally, everyone at the Seder
will get a bit. The Afikomen is supposed to be the 'dessert' of
the Pesach Meal. It is the last thing we eat and we are supposed
to let the taste linger in our mouths for as long as possible.
As believers in Yeshua as Messiah, we see extra meaning in the
Afikomen. 'Afikomen' is actually a Greek word that means, 'that
which comes last'. Some people, however, translate it as, 'he
will come again'. The Afikomen is the middle of the three matzot
that remind us of the tri-unity of G-d - Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. The Afikomen is broken - as Yeshua was 'broken' when He
was executed - and then wrapped in a cloth - as Yeshua's body was
wrapped for burial. Then, the Afikomen is hidden for a while - as
Yeshua was hidden in death for three days - before retuning to
complete the Seder - as Yeshua returned to life from death.
The Afikomen is also possibly the matzah that Yeshua took and
shared with His disciples at their Seder, when He said, "This is
My body, which is being given for you ..."
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