At one end of the spectrum of created beings there are purely spiritual entities. These are the angels. The other end is populated by purely physical beings. For instance, cows. The question is: where on this continuum do we fit in? "Well," you might think to yourself, "some people I know come close to that end, while others seem to belong to the end where grazing is the dominant activity of the day."

The Jewish concept is that human beings, unique creatures that we are, are a blend of both ends of the spectrum. That is, each and every one of us is part angel and part Holstein. Part spiritual and part physical.*

Take a look for yourself. Isn't there something within you-- an angelic core--which is inclined towards the spiritual? Towards that which transcends the mundanity of the corporeal? A portion of your being which yearns to dispense with its preoccupation with food, sleep, and comfort. To free itself to pursue the eternal and not the transitory, to experience that which is intensely meaningful and not fleeting or petty.

Now look again. Is there not a part of you that longs to spend endless sun-massaged days on a quiet beach? Chilled beverages at your side, CDs playing your favorite music, the Sunday paper... and drift away... from all your cares, worries and responsibilities.

This is us. A not always so harmonious blend of spiritual and physical. One moment selflessly seeking to better the lot of all mankind, the next in a huff over the delivery of a pizza without the extra cheese. One day inspired to find private time to meditate or nurture our spousal intimacy, only to wake up at week's end buried by a heap of files labeled wealth, success, and acclaim. This is all of us. It is the conundrum of our existence and the dynamic to which the "matzah" and "maror" allude.

Matzah... is the soul. When pared of his or her external trappings and physical interests you will find that something yet remains of the human being. The longing of the soul. The basic nucleus of self. Likewise a loaf of bread. When denied all its additives; of sugar and salt, of poppy seeds or raisins, and even of time to rise, an essence still remains. Stripped-down bread is matzah and a stripped-down human being is a soul.

For an entire week we eat only matzah and consider only our deepest aspirations and loftiest dreams. Like an unwieldy corporate monster which has become diversified beyond recognition, we now attempt to get back to the basics. To focus not only on priorities but on the basic values and goals which define our priorities. Ultimately, to reconnect with that inner force which once promised to animate our every move.

Maror... is our physicality run amok. To demean the body and shun the world of physical pleasures is never the way of Judaism. Rather, Judaism asserts what all of us know. If you eat too much ice cream, you get sick; if you eat ice cream too fast, you won't taste it, and, if you eat too much ice cream, eventually you will lose your taste for ice cream.

The alternative, the Jewish path to both ice cream and spirituality, is to master our desires for the delicious. The bitter herbs are not a call to ascetic denial, but rather a reminder of one of life's earliest learned truths. That for a cow a life guided by moment-to-moment physical needs and urges is fine, perhaps even sweet, but for us--angels that we are--it can get a little bitter. Remember this lesson and you are halfway home to becoming an authentic connoisseur--of life.

Korech... is the most precise picture of who we are. We are neither the unencumbered soul of the Brahman nor the untamed body of a gluttonous boor. Rather, as two hydrogen atoms adhere to one of oxygen and form a new entity called water, so a soul when fused with a body becomes the crowning element of creation. A striving, struggling, growing, free-willed, creative human being. He who masters the tensions of this duality. He who can achieve a spiritually driven balance, who is able to live like a soul while dressing like a body is ready to move on....

... to Shulchan Orech. To a grand view of life which sees the world as an exquisitely set table of delicious opportunities for growth. A banquet without end. Know your essence, beware the bitter herbs, harmonize the totality of your being in the service of your greatest goals, then--and only then--will the delicacies of living truly be open to you.

Tzafon... means concealment, and depicts ultimate potential. We bring the afikomen out of its place of hiding and with it we bring a message of the hidden potential in every aspect of creation.

The afikomen represents the Passover lamb which was eaten by every Jew when the Temple stood in Jerusalem. The halacha (Jewish law) regarding the Passover lamb states (1) that it must be eaten only after the Passover meal has been concluded, and (2) that nothing may be eaten after the lamb. In effect, it is lamb chops and not macaroons which are the Passover dessert of tradition. Today the same rules apply to the afikomen. We eat it only after concluding our entire meal, and it is to be the last food we taste at the Seder. The afikomen is not consumed because we are hungry, but only because it is a mitzvah, a spiritual directive.

Generally when we eat, it is to satisfy our appetite--but not tonight. Tonight the afikomen points to eating not as an ends but as an enabler; to physical pleasures as an aid and not as an aim. Ultimately the intended state of the physical world is that of a vast tool shed overflowing with devices designed to access a higher reality. When properly understood, the hidden potential of our physicality is to connect us to a spiritual dimension stored in every corner of creation.

This is the secret of eating the hidden piece of matzah. Every aspect of life, every person and every fruit, every moment and every blade of grass, possesses ultimate potential. Like the latent forces of energy stored up in every atom, there is the potential of spirituality waiting inside every morsel of life. And once you experience this, once you taste the subtle flavors of afikomen, you won't want to taste anything else.

*This illustration is a simplification of an esoteric area of Jewish thought. It is beyond the scope of this work to deal with these ideas in an exhaustive manner.

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