Schulchan Orech

The Meal is Served

It is customary to begin the meal with hard boiled eggs flavored with salt water. This was the practice in Roman times. The egg is symbolic of new growth, of new life, of hope. The roasted egg on the Seder plate has come to represent the ancient Temple holiday sacrifice in Jerusalem, the holy city.

The Haggadah says: "Let all who are hungry come and eat." Traditionally, this is understood to mean both feeding the hungry and providing them with spiritual sustenance. We live in a society of unprecedented wealth, where people squander millions on luxuries while people around them are starving. At the Seder, however, we invite all who are hungry to partake with us. More than just decrying hunger, we take active measures to overcome it. The Seder is not simply a call to action. It is the action itself!

Tzafun

In Temple times the Passover sacrifice was eaten at the end of the meal, when everyone was almost satiated. In remembrance of this, we partake of the afikomen as the very last food to be eaten at our Seder.

Toward the end of the meal, the children look for the afikomen, which the leader has hidden. Since neither the meal nor the Seder can be concluded before some of the group has eaten a piece of it, whoever finds the afikomen may demand a reward. Nothing is eaten after the afikomen, so that the matzah may be the last food tasted.