{"id":5784,"date":"2011-03-16T16:00:41","date_gmt":"2011-03-16T14:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=5784"},"modified":"2021-03-22T13:34:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T11:34:45","slug":"04-16-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-16-16\/","title":{"rendered":"16.\u00a0Ya\u1e25atz<\/strong> \u2013 Breaking the Middle Matza"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three matzot<\/strong> are arranged on the Seder plate. After eating karpas<\/strong>, before reciting the Hagada, the Seder leader (and whoever else has three matzot<\/strong> in front of him) breaks the middle matza in half. The larger piece is saved for the afikoman<\/strong>, and the other is left between the two whole matzot<\/strong> (SA 463:6).<\/p>\n

The reason for this is to invoke our impoverishment in Egypt, for one of the meanings to which the matza alludes is our poverty and subjugation in Egypt. For this reason, matza is called \u201cle\u1e25em<\/strong> oni<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 \u201cpoor man\u2019s bread\u201d (Devarim 16:3). Paupers often eat partial loaves of bread because they are unable to buy whole loaves. We break the matza before beginning the Hagada since the Hagada should be recited in the presence of the matza, as another meaning of \u201cle\u1e25em<\/strong> oni<\/strong>\u201d is \u201cbread over which we \u2018onim<\/strong>\u2019 \u2013 answer or say \u2013 many things,\u201d and this means that the Hagada must be recited while the matza, in the form it will be eaten, is before us. This is why it must be broken in half before we begin the Hagada.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, on the Seder night,<\/strong> just like on every Shabbat and Yom Tov, there is a mitzva to recite \u201cha-motzi<\/strong>\u201d over two whole loaves of bread\/matza (\u201cle\u1e25em mishneh<\/strong>\u201d). Therefore, we set the table with three matzot<\/strong>: the middle one is broken in half to give expression to le\u1e25em oni<\/strong>, while the top and bottom matzot<\/strong> remain whole and serve as le\u1e25em mishneh<\/strong>. (Later, when reciting \u201cha-motzi<\/strong>,\u201d one should hold all three matzot<\/strong> so that there is le\u1e25em mishneh<\/strong>, and before reciting the berakha <\/strong>of \u201cal<\/strong> akhilat<\/strong> matza,\u201d<\/strong> we put down the bottom matza and recite the blessing over the top and middle matzot<\/strong>, in order to highlight the broken matza to a greater degree.)[16]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The larger piece of the broken matza is designated as the afikoman<\/strong>, and the custom is to wrap it in a napkin, in recollection of the verse, \u201cThe people took their dough before it was leavened; their kneading leftover dough was wrapped in their robes\u201d (Shemot 12:34). Some people have a custom to place the afikoman<\/strong> on their shoulder for a moment, in commemoration of the Exodus, when people carried matzot<\/strong> on their shoulders (MB 473:59).<\/p>\n

Afterward, we hide the afikoman<\/strong> and save it until the end of the Seder, when it is eaten in commemoration of the Paschal sacrifice (see sections 33 and 34 below).<\/p>\n

In some families, the children customarily \u201csteal\u201d the afikoman<\/strong> and hide it until the end of the meal, when they give it back in return for a gift. This helps them stay awake for the entire Seder. In our family, we give gifts to all children who stay awake until the afikoman<\/strong> is eaten.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n[16]<\/a>. According to Rambam, one sets the table with only two matzot<\/strong> and breaks the bottom one. There is no need for two whole matzot<\/strong>, because at the Seder one is supposed to eat le\u1e25em oni<\/strong>, and so one matza is broken This is the custom of the Yemenite community, who follow Rambam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three matzot are arranged on the Seder plate. After eating karpas, before reciting the Hagada, the Seder leader (and whoever else has three matzot in front of him) breaks the middle matza in half. The larger piece is saved for the afikoman, and the other is left between the two whole matzot (SA 463:6). The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-16-seder-night"],"yoast_head":"\n16.\u00a0Ya\u1e25atz \u2013 Breaking the Middle Matza - Peninei Halakha<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/04-16-16\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"16.\u00a0Ya\u1e25atz \u2013 Breaking the Middle Matza - Peninei Halakha\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three matzot are arranged on the Seder plate. After eating karpas, before reciting the Hagada, the Seder leader (and whoever else has three matzot in front of him) breaks the middle matza in half. The larger piece is saved for the afikoman, and the other is left between the two whole matzot (SA 463:6). 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