Lets find the Afikomen Analysis and

Insights
Rabbi Avie Schreiber
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At times, the afikomen gets a little lost. Not in some hidden recess of a cabinet, or
beneath a planter, but right on the dining room table. By the time we reach the eating of
the afikomen, we tend to be tired and we tend to be full. As a result, it is difficult to
appreciate and sometimes even fulfill this mitzvah. Let us examine an aspect of the
afikomen, and thereby perform the mitzvah with greater awareness and enjoyment.
The halacha is that we may not eat any food after eating the afikomen. This dessert will
be the last food we eat on the seder night. The source for this practice is the mishna in
Masechet Pesachim1 that states meaning essentially2 that
one may not eat food after consuming the korban Pesach.
In the gemara, Rav Yehudah quotes Shmuel as extrapolating from this halacha and saying
that , meaning that nowadays, when we do not have the
korban Pesach, one may not eat any food after eating the final piece of matzah, which we
refer to as the afikomen. Since we eat the final piece of Matzah as a symbolic reminder
for the korban Pesach itself, the Chachamim extended the prohibition to not eating after
the final piece of matzah the afikomen - as well. Also, the reason for not eating after
the korban Pesach, may equally apply to the matzah as well, as we will see later.
Lets return to the original halacha of not eating after the korban Pesach. What is the
reason for this prohibition? What is wrong with partaking of food after consuming the
Pesach offering?
The rishonim and other commentaries3 offer what seem to be two separate explanations
for this halacha.
1) The pesach needs to be the last food that we eat so that its taste lingers in our mouths
even after we are actually finished eating4.
2) The prohibition of eating after the korban Pesach is in order to ensure that we fulfill
another requirement - that of eating the Pesach on a full stomach5 - 6 . The logic

1 :
2 According to one Amora and what appears to be the consensus.
3 See below
4 The Baalei Tosafot - see Tosfot Pesachim 120a " . Rashbam Pesachim 1119b " .
5 Rashbam Pesachim 1119b " .
6

is as follows: knowing that we will not be able to eat anymore once we finish eating the
meat of the korban Pesach, we will make sure to not be hungry when we begin eating
it. (Even more so when we consider that is was common for people to only be able to eat
a of the korban since often large group of people would share one korban.)
We need to further investigate both of these reasons. Why is it so important for the taste
of the korban Pesach to linger in ones mouth? What is the reason for the obligation to eat
the korban Pesach only after already feeling satiated?
1) The requirement for the taste to linger:
Various explanations are suggested by the Rishonim.
a) The Baal HaMaor
There was a concern when the Beit HaMikdash was standing that one may forget to
sing Hallel after eating the korban. This was especially so due to the vast crowds that
gathered in Yerushalayim. Because space was limited and very tight, it was common
practice that once a person finished eating his portion of the korban, he would ascend
to the rooftop and recite hallel there. (The korban itself had to be eaten on the ground
floor, because the ground of Yerushalayim had the requisite level of Kedusha for
eating the korban.) Since people excused themselves from the group and left their
dinner location, it was very possible that someone may forget to say hallel. Having
the taste of the meat in ones mouth served as a reminder.
b) The Ravad
The Ravad strongly disagrees with the Baal HaMaor and instead suggests that the
purpose for the taste to remain in our mouths is to remind us to not leave over any
meat of the korban until morning; rather we should eat it prior to sunrise (or perhaps
midnight) to prevent it from becoming - leftover meat of a korban which would
then need to be burned. By allowing the taste to remain with us, we will continuously
think about the korban Pesach, thereby ensuring that we fulfill our responsibility to
finish eating it in a timely manner.
c) The Rambam
The Rambam writes in 8:9 of Hilchot Chametz Umatzah:
. -
The reason the taste of the Pesach and the matzah need to remain is because eating
them is the (main) mitzvah.

Rav Yerucham Fishel Perlau7 explains this statement of the Rambam based on the
mishna regarding tekiat shofar on Rosh HaShanna. In the beit hamikdash, the person
blowing the shofar would be flanked by two kohanim blowing the trumpets. The
shofar sound, however, needed to continue and extend beyond the trumpet sound - the
trumpets would blow for a short time and the shofar for a more extended time,
because, says the mishna, the mitzvah of the day is the shofar. Likewise, even though
there are many mitzvot that involve eating that we perform on the night of the seder,
the main mitzvot are the matzah and the pesach. For this reason, they should be
lengthened and stand out. We accomplish this by allowing their tastes alone to
linger in our mouths.
d) Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Solovetchik )("
The Rav explains that the motivation to not eat after the korban pesach and the
matzah, thereby keeping their taste in our mouths, is to fulfill the requirement of
" " ( ) that telling the story of yetziat Mitzrayim needs to be done while the matza and maror
are in front of us. According to many, completing hallel after the meal and singing
praises to Hashem is an extension of the mitzvah of . As such, by
having the taste of the matzah and pesach in our mouths, we fulfill the requirement to
link the telling of the story with the matzah and the pesach.8
2) Eating
Let us now return to the second reason offered by rishonim for not eating after the korban
Pesach to ensure that we fulfill the requirement of eating the pesach after
already feeling full and satisfied. What is the basis for this obligation?
a) Yerushalmi
The requirement to eat the korban Pesach is to prevent us from violating the
prohibition of breaking the bones of the korban as the pasuk states:
9
. If we eat the meat in a state of hunger, then in our enthusiasm to eat, we are liable
to break a bone of the korban. Various reasons are offered to explain why the Torah
forbids the breaking of the bones of the korban Pesach. The Rashbam and the
Chizkuni10 link this requirement to the more general theme of eating the korban
7 See Hagadat Hegyonei Halacha who quotes this opinion.
8 According to this explanation, it is unclear why there isnt a similar requirement to keep the taste of
maror in our mouths as well. A student of mine, Efrat Putterman, raised this question. Perhaps we can
suggest that the mitzvah of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim after the meal is different than before the meal. At this
later point, we focus only on the shevach on the positive and on praising Hashem. As such, the food
items that need to be present are only those that relate to our redemption, i.e. the matzah and the pesach,but
not the maror.
9 :
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pesach in a hurried state. Chewing on the bones and eating the marrow
expresses a sense of relaxation and unhurried eating.
b) Rashbam
The Rashbam and others explain that the requirement of eating on a full stomach is
actually part of a more general requirement that according to the Rashbam, applies to
all korbanot. Based on the pasuk,

, we learn that the
korbanot need to be eaten in a manner of nobility and dignity, in the manner of kings.
By eating the korban after already being mostly satiated, we are acting as kings who
generally do not eat out of a state of great hunger, and who sometimes finish off their
meal with some type of beef dish.
Some elaborate and explain that for other korbanot, the obligation of eating in a noble
manner is reserved for the kohanim since they have a mitzvah to partake of the meat
of the korban. For the korban pesach, this requirement of eating in a dignified
manner, applies to all Jews since we all have the mitzvah of eating the korban Pesach.
c)
The on Parshat Bo11 derives the obligation of eating the Pesach on a full
stomach from the pasuk . The writes:

From here we learn that the pesach needs to be eaten on a full stomach, but matzah
and maror do not.
Essentially, according to this, while we have a source for the halacha, there is no
particular reason given and we are left on our own to figure out the rationale for this
requirement.
After surveying the different reasons for the prohibition of eating after the korban
pesach and in our times, after the afikomen, we notice something very interesting. The
reach of the mitzvah of eating the afikomen (and the korban pesach) extends far beyond
the actual moments of eating it. The afikomen governs what we do leading up to eating it
and what we do after eating it. Looking back at the beginning of our meal on the seder
night, in a sense, the entire meal can be viewed as preparation for the afikomen. We eat to
be satisfied in order to fulfill the requirement of eating the afikomen . Looking
ahead to the latter part of the night, the afikomen remains in our minds because eating it
triggered the issur of not eating anymore, and because its taste remains in our mouths.
Far from mere childs play and far from an afterthought, it can be argued that eating of
the afikomen is in fact the center and fulcrum of the seder.
11 :

We can suggest homiletically, that the halachic reach of the korban pesach and the
matzah at the seder, is a metaphor for the historical and spiritual significance of the
korban pesach. The Jews partook of their meal on the night of the 15th of Nissan for just a
few hours. But those few hours had been planned for and anticipated many years in
advance since the brit bein habitarim some 400 years earlier. The history of the Jewish
people beginning with Avraham led us to Mitzrayim and to that profound night as we
awaited our freedom. And those few hours of that night reach forward in time as well, as
they continue to affect, influence and inspire the lives of the Jewish people during the
night of the seder and throughout the year.