Etymology
The Greek word on which afikoman is based has two meanings, according to the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. Both Talmuds agree on the halakha (stated in the Passover Haggadah under the answer given to the Wise Son) that no other food should be eaten for the rest of the night after the afikoman is consumed. The Babylonian Talmud explains that the word "afikoman" derives from the Greek word for "dessert", the last thing eaten at a meal. The Jerusalem Talmud, however, derives the word afikoman from epikomion, meaning "after-dinner revelry" or "entertainment". It was the custom of Romans and Greeks to move from one party or banquet to another. The halakha prohibiting anything else being eaten after the afikoman therefore enjoins Jews to distinguish their Passover Seder from the pagan rituals of other nations.
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