Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in Jewish history, and, most notably, he did not die! Rather, he rose to the heavens in a chariot of fire! Because he did not die, Rabbinic scholars believed he was kept alive for a special reason - to hail the arrival of the Messiah! So Elijah will have a extremely important job - but why invite him into our house tonight? We live in an unprecedented time in Jewish history - Jews of...

The first reference to the Afikoman is the talmudic warning not to serve fancy desserts or go partying after partaking in the Passover meal (Epikomos).  Afikoman was what you were not supposed to do - go from party to party carousing. Eventually, however, afikoman became something you had to have - a piece of matzah that would be the final thing you ate at the completion of the meal. Originally, a piece of the Passover lamb was the last thing eaten....