Lady Judith’s Afikoman – Pesach
The final lingering taste on Seder night is the Afikoman which has been secreted from early in the proceedings. Some families attribute special power to this Afikoman. Sephardim in particular often carry with them a little remnant of that year’s Afikoman.
An example is Judith, the wife of Sir Moses Montefiore. It is said that when the ship on which they were en route to Alexandria seemed to be foundering, Lady Judith remembered that she had brought some Afikoman with her.
On the fly-leaf of her prayer book she wrote an account of the moment when she went on deck and threw the little piece of matzah into the water. Within a minute the wind subsided and the sea became calm. The captain came to Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore to thank them for the miracle.
Whether it was the matzah or their prayers or the vagaries of the weather, the voyage could now continue in safety.
