Yachatz
Take the three matzot and break the middle one in 2 pieces Place the smaller piece of matzah between the two whole matzot. This small piece is called the lechem oni, the bread of affliction. Place the larger half, known as the Afikomen, in a large cloth or napkin, and set it aside. This will require 2 readers
Uncover the matzah and raise it for all to see.
Reader 1: Some do not get the chance to rise and spread out like golden loaves of challah, filled with sweet raisins and crowned with shiny braids.
Reader 2: Rushed, neglected, not kneaded by caring hands, we grow up afraid that any touch may cause a break. There are some ingredients we never receive.
Reader 1: Tonight, let us bless our cracked surfaces and sharp edges, unafraid to see our brittleness and brave enough to see our beauty.
Reader 2: Reaching for wholeness, let us piece together the parts of ourselves we have found, and honor all that is still hidden.
The breaking of the matzah reflects the words of the Chassidic Kotzker Rebbe: There is nothing more whole than a broken heart. If your own suffering does not serve to unite you with the suffering of others, if your own imprisonment does not join you with others in prison, if you in your smallness remain alone, then your pain will have been for naught.
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