One of the names for the holiday of Passover is, “Chag HaMatzot” – “The Holiday of Matzot.”

There is no other holiday in which a food which we are permitted to eat all year, becomes prohibited for a period of eight days. Bread and all other leavened items (chametz) are prohibited during the entire Passover. Not only are we forbidden to eat it during Passover, we are also forbidden from having any benefit or usage from them.

This is why, the night before the Seder night, we are required to search the house for chametz and to burn the chametz we find.

All the chametz we intend to keep for after Passover has to be sold (through the rabbi) to a non-Jew, thus rendering it not ours during Passover. Any chametz which was not sold and was in our possession during the holiday, may not be used even after Passover.

Q. Why do many prefer to use round Shmurah matzah for Passover; especially for the "Seder Plate"?

A. The Torah describes the matzah which the Jewish people baked when leaving Egypt as, "ugot Matzot" (cakes of matzah). The word "ugot" represents something which is round.

Q. On Shabbat and holidays, after reciting the Kiddush, we make the blessing over the bread and eat the meal. But, Passover night, at the Seder, we do not recite the blessing over the matzah and eat the meal right after the Kiddush, only after reciting the Hagadah. Why is the night of Passover different in that we recite the Hagadah first and then eat the meal?

A. At the Seder it is a mitzvah to tell the story of the Exodus and the great miracles which G-d performed for His people. We perform this mitzvah by reciting the Hagadah. The rabbis instituted that we recite the Hagadah before the meal to make sure that the participants, especially the children, will stay awake for the Hagadah and the entire Seder. If we eat the meal first, we may become drowsy and not perform the Seder properly.

Q. Why is it customary for the children to hide the Afikoman at the beginning of the Seder?

A. We encourage the children to hide the Afikoman in order to keep them awake throughout the Seder. The excitement of receiving a reward for returning the Afikoman later will keep them from falling asleep.

Q. Why do we eat the Afikoman at the end of the meal?

A. The Afikoman represents the Pesach sacrifice, which, during the days of the Holy Temple, had to be eaten at the end of the meal, in order that the taste of the Pesach sacrifice will remain in the person's mouth. It teaches us that the experience and message of the Seder should stay with us long after we have finished the Seder.