Breaking the Middle Matzah
The Leader breaks the middle matzah into two pieces and leaves one piece in the matzah cloth or tray. The other piece becomes the Afikomen, which the leader wraps in a napkin and puts aside. Traditionally at the end of the meal, the Afikomen will be broken into small pieces and each participant will receive a piece, to be eaten as the official last food of the meal.
The origin of this custom must be traced to the pascal lamb which was eaten on Passover night. It was customary to reserve a small portion of the lamb to be eaten at the close of the meal. When sacrifices had ceased, a piece of the matzah was eaten instead.
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