Tzafun- Alexandra Mundlak

Haggadah Section: Tzafun

Tzafun is the last morsel of food eaten by participants at the Seder. According to the english translation of the Haggadah, “after the meal, take the Afikoman and divide it among all the members of the household, by giving everyone a kezayit (the volume of one olive). Take care not to eat or drink (only water allowed, but not recommended) after the Afikoman. It is to be eaten in the reclining position and this ought to be done before midnight.” After having read the translation of the Haggadah in english, something I found interesting was that we are not allowed to eat anything after eating the afikoman, and that was my question; does eating the afikoman symbolize anything? Is that why we are not allowed to eat anything after we eat our afikoman? The answer I came up with was that the afikoman should be eaten last to finish our Seder with a matzah. This symbolizes how the Jews survived in Egypt, and therefore we’ll always sense that lasting feeling of survival.

According to the body, “with the first matzah, we fulfilled our obligation to eat matzah. This one is in place of the Pesach lamb (which can only be brought in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem) that is meant to be eaten on a full stomach.”

According to the soul, “In the Kabbalah, it is explained that there is something deeper than the soul. There is the body, the spirit, and then there is the essence. If the soul is light, then that essence is the source of light. If it is energy, then the essence is the dynamo. It is called "tzafun," meaning hidden, buried, locked away and out of reach.

On Passover night, we have the power to be inspired and touch the inner core. But only after all the steps before: Destroying our personal chametz, preparing our homes for liberation, the eleven steps of the Seder until now. Then, when we are satiated with all we can handle, connecting every facet of ourselves to the Divine, that’s when that power comes to us. Whether we sense it or not, tasteless as it may seem, the matzah we eat now reaches deep into our core and transforms our very being.”

In general, the things one finds inspiring and nice may take them a step forward.But if you want to effect real change, you need to do something totally beyond your personal bounds.

Source:  
chabad,org

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