All About Afikomen 

The Babylonian Talmud asked, “What does afikomen mean? Rav said: That they must not uproot from one company to another. Samuel said: Mushrooms for myself and squabs for Abba. Rav Chanina ben Shila and Rav Yochanan said: “Dates, roasted grains, and nuts.” None of the three seemingly unrelated responses even mentions matza or, for that matter, any other traditional aspect of either the Mishnaic or modern Seder ritual. The Jerusalem Talmud answered the question of, “What is afikomen,” somewhat differently, also recording three opinions –- “Rabbi Simon in the name of Rabbi Einieni bar Rabbi Sissi said: types of singing; Rabbi Yochanan said: types of sweets; Samuel said: for example, mushrooms and squabs for Chanina ben Shilat.”

In the modern Haggadah, modern being a relatively broad term when it comes to Jewish history, the final matza is called afikomen. This, however, was not the original usage of that word. The first reference to afikomen is in the Mishnah following the details of various parts of the Seder, generally discussed in their order -- the third and fourth cups of wine, grace after meals, and the Hallel -- reflecting that afikomen occurs after the end of the entire Seder and not the end of the meal per se. The Mishnah then proceeds, “One may not add after the paschal offering an afikomen.” This wording clearly indicates the prevention of an activity that should not be done on Passover, something forbidden. The Mishnah is not listing it as part of the Seder.

The formalized Passover night liturgy was developed by Sages living in Israel two thousand years ago, at the time under Roman occupation. They incorporated into the Seder not only the various biblical commandments but also many elements from the contemporary Greco-Roman symposium (Greek for “drinking together”), a ritualized upper class banquet and intellectual dialogue, including reclining on couches, eating from private small tables, ritual hand-washing, dipping hors d’oeuvres, fruit-and-nut relishes, a series of ritual wine libations, a sumptuous meal, and a series of questions as a starting point for an intellectual discussion of a designated topic. These aspects of the symposium served as idealized models of freedom and affluence, the manner in which the Seder participants had to view themselves. At the end of the symposium, however, followed a komos (later comissatio in Rome), named after an intoxicated reveling group of satyrs who followed around the Greek god of wine and fertility, Dionysus. (The word comedy also comes from the komos.) The end of the symposium, living up to the namesake komos, consisted of a drinking party accompanied with revelry, music, and song. The host always provided various tidbits -- most notably fruits, roasted grains, and nuts -- similar to the modern beer nuts -- to nosh with the wine to induce the consumption of alcohol. (A komos also frequently featured masks and costumes, a practice, which around the seventeenth century, through the Italian commedia dell’arte, found its way into Purim festivities.) The komos served as a ritualistic transition from the intellectual and gastronomic parts of the symposium to its sensual, decadent side, inevitably and intentionally leading to lewdness. As part of the komos, the inebriated participants would then proceed (komatsain) from house to house, laughing and singing, to persuade others to join them in their drinking, carousing, and orgies. The Sages, not wanting the aftermath of the Seder to degenerate into the bawdy and lascivious behavior of the komos, realized that it was necessary to avoid the excesses of the symposium.

Consequently, afikomen originally meant in Greek epi komos/epikomion (upon the revelry). The meaning of the Mishnah is, “One may not add after the paschal offering any of the activities associated with the komos.” Therefore, the Sages forbade drinking any additional wine after the meal, with the exception of the remaining official two cups, as well as prohibiting any similar post-dinner komos celebrations.

Now we can understand the meaning of the various Talmudic answers to the question, “What is an afikomen.” All of the Sages cited were from the first generation of Amoraim (3rd century CE). Those Sages who lived under Roman rule in Israel understood the connection between the Seder and the symposium and also understood that Jews residing in a Greco-Roman society were very much susceptible to being influenced by the komos customs, as reflected in the Israeli rabbis’ understanding of the afikomen.

Thus the response of Rav (Abba ben Aivu, 3rd century CE scholar, born in Babylonia, who later studied in Israel before returning to Babylonia and founding the academy at Sura), “they must not uproot from one company to another,” was not a play on words (uproot also meaning jump), but actually an etymology (the Greek epi komatsain, “upon jumping up”). In a similar vein, the Jerusalem Talmud in its discussion of the Haggadah answered the simple son, “That we do not add an afikomen after the Passover lamb, so that he will not jump from one group and enter another group.” Rav, who spent many years living in Israel under Roman rule, was warning against the Greco-Roman practice of epikomazien (wandering from one house to another) after the symposium, the principal stimulus of the epikomion (inappropriate revelry).

This also clarifies the view of Rav Chanina ben Shila (end of the third century, born in Babylonia and immigrated to Israel where he studied with Rav Yochanan) and Rav Yochanan (the Israeli contemporary or Rav and Samuel, Yochanan ben Nappaha, 3rd century Israeli scholar at Tiberias and the primary influence on the Jerusalem Talmud), “You must not add after the Passover meal dates, roasted grains, and nuts (or “types of sweets” in the Jerusalem Talmud),” the very items constituting the favorite nibbles of a komos, leading to wine consumption and promiscuity. Rabbi Yochanan proscribed foods associated with the komos, while Rav forbade those activities associated with it. Similarly, the “types of singing” mentioned by the Jerusalem Talmud certainly connotes frivolous practices of the komos.

On the other hand, Samuel (early to mid-third century Babylonian/Persian scholar who may have spent his entire life in his birthplace) said, “Mushrooms for myself and squabs for Abba (referring to Rav, whose actual name was Abba).” Babylonian scholars, living in an area where the symposium was never practiced, were naturally unconcerned that local Jews would be induced by its lascivious aspects. Consequently, Babylonians considered the afikomen an after the meal treat, which in Talmudic times involved savory dishes and not sweets. Thus in central Asia the meaning of afikomen changed to dessert, but still something prohibited after the final matza.

Tellingly, the words of the Mishnah, “One may not add after the Passover offering an afikomen,” appears in our Haggadah -- as part of the reply to the wise son, after explaining to him “all the laws of the Paschal offering.” As many commentators point out, on the surface this does not seem to answer the wise son’s question, “what are the testimonies, and the statues, and the ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you?” Interestingly, the Jerusalem Talmud substituted “us” for the “you” in the wise son’s question. (In the Mechilta, the wise son’s question also stated “us,” but the answer to him was the same as our Haggadah.) Also in the Jerusalem Talmud, the answer given to the wise son was that given to the simple son in the Haggadah -- “with a strong hand God took us out of Egypt from the house of bondage” -- and that given to the simple son is “You should teach him the laws of Passover, that we do not add an afikomen after the Passover offering, so that he will not get up from one group and enter into another group (thereby fall victim to the komos).”

To be sure, the wicked son is the one most in danger of leaving a spiritual Seder and, having failed to internalize its ritual, immediately turn to base practices and the revelry of the komos. The simple son is the one most in danger of being innocently enticed by societal messages. Nevertheless, even the wise son, who took to heart the lessons of Passover, can be seduced by the sensual and confusing pleasures of the komos. Therefore, the Haggadah instructs a father to warn his child that even after absorbing all of the intricate details of Passover, a person has to guard against misconstruing the elements of the Seder with those of the symposium (and society).

The first record of the word afikomen employed in reference to the final matza, and no longer something forbidden, occurred in the Responsa of Rashi, a collection of Rashi’s writings chronicled by his students (12th century). By the time of the Shulchan Arukh (c. 1555), the term afikomen was firmly entrenched among both Ashkenazim and Sephardim as the name of the final portion of matza at the Seder. The Shuchan Arukh tersely rules, “After afikomen do not eat anything.” Rabbi Moses Isserles adds, “And do not eat in two places,” summoning up the opinion of Rav.

Initially, the final matza had no specific name. Amram Gaon, author of the first recorded Haggadah compiled in 857 CE, simply states, “After eating (the meal), every one eats an olive size portion of matza.” Saadia Gaon (tenth century), in his siddur containing another early version of the Haggadah, refers to the final matza as keenuach seudah (“wiping of the meal”), a Talmudic euphemism for dessert. (Similarly, the English word dessert derives from the French, “to clear the table,” reflecting something served following the meal.) However, despite a common misconception, the word afikomen does not mean dessert in Greek.

By at least the late twelfth century, the term tzafun (hidden) became prevalent among Ashkenazim for the final matza, as evidenced by the introductory poem of the Haggadah -- Kaddesh, urechatz, karpas, yachatz, maggid, rachtzah, motzi, matza, maror, koraich, shulchan orech, tzafun, barech, hallel, nirtzah. The Sefer ha-Rokeach (c. 1200) proposed that the name of this custom derives from the verse, “How abundant is Your goodness, which tzafanta (You have hidden away) for those who fear You (Psalms 31:20).” Illustrations in early Ashkenazic Haggadahs reveal that the practice of hiding the larger piece of the middle matza under or in a cloth, an act intended to peak the interest of the children, was widespread among Ashkenazim by that time. Like other parts of the Seder, the acts of hiding and finding the matza developed various symbolic meanings, such as pointing to the unknown future redemption. Wrapping matza in a cloth is also reminiscent of the Israelites leaving Egypt. Although some Sephardim and Mizrachim have recently adopted the practice of tzafun (hiding the matza), it was not their tradition. Rather, at a Sephardi and Mizrachi Seder, the final matza is enwrapped in a special cloth bag, frequently embroidered, and the leader conducts a dramatic reenactment of the Exodus from Egypt.

Sidenote: At the time that the Temple stood, the paschal offering (korban pesach) constituted the final part of the Passover Seder meal. Following the destruction of the Temple and the resultant cessation of the paschal offering, it was replaced with a portion of matza at the end of the meal, separate from the matza at the onset to recite the Hamotzi (benediction over bread). This concluding piece of matza is not consumed because of hunger, but, according to some, for the fulfillment of the commandment of eating matza or, according to others, in memory of the Temple.

Gil Marks, a regular contributor to this magazine, is the author of numerous books, including the James Beard Award-winning Olive Trees and Honey: A Treasury of Vegetarian Recipes from Jewish Communities Around the World.

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