Rabbi Knopf's Blog

The Talmud teaches that 30 days before Passover, we should start learning about the festival and its meaning. In that spirit, I offer a brief message each day leading up to Passover, drawn from the wisdom of the holiday and the Exodus story. Feel free to share/forward.  -Rabbi Knopf

Day 12: Hide and Seek
The Afikoman, a piece of ceremonial matzah, must be the last food consumed at the Seder. In some homes, a grown-up hides the Afikoman, and the children search for it in the hopes of receiving a prize for its recovery. After all, it’s a valuable item: one cannot finish the Seder without it. At my grandparents’ Seder, all us kids would search for the Afikoman, and my Grandfather gave everyone a prize, regardless of who found it. His lesson for us: a sincere search is every bit as valuable as the actual finding. To seek honestly, regardless of discovery, is to be rewarded.