The Undrinkable Cup of Elijah: Down the Path of an Ancient Seder Mystery

שבת הגדול תשס"ט • Shabbat Hagadol 2009 Rabbi Yosie Levine The Jewish Center

Rabbi Moshe Hagiz was a scholar and a rabbi living in Western Europe at the beginning of the 18 th century. In 1728, he printed a short introduction to a halachic work called the And in the course of his introduction, he asks a question – that to my . שערי כנסת הגדולה knowledge – had actually never been asked before. And I’d like to use it as our jumping : כוס של אליהו off point this morning as we explore the topic of the

1 . ברכת אליהו , ר ' משה האג' יז

What is Eliyahu doing at our seder? We drink four cups at the seder. That’s the universally accepted practice. And yet we have this fifth – usually very large cup – that So my .כ וס של אליהו we fill up, but don’t drink. And everyone knows that it’s called the first question to you this morning is Rabbi Hagiz’s question:

What does Eliyahu Hanavi ? כוס של אליהו Why do we have a cup that’s called the .1 have to do with the seder?

And to this question, I’d like to add three more questions:

2. What’s the source of the practice to have this additional cup? Where does it come from? 3. If it’s so important, why don’t we drink it? 4. Why is it so big?

1 2. Haggadah Shel Pesach, Offenbach (1795)

If you can make it out, the host and hostess are holding huge Kiddush cups – and the cup on the table that’s not attached to anyone – and appears to be for Eliyahu – is actually a they’re always these huge – כוס של אליהו little smaller. But no one has ever seen a small cups – it takes the whole bottle of wine to fill it. In my family we always give Eliyahu one of the wines with a lower alcohol content. We figure that he has a busy night and far be it from us to slow him down.

It’s the night of four questions – so this morning we have our own four questions: 1. Why do we have a cup that’s called the cup of Elijah? 2. What’s its source? 3. Why don’t we drink it? 4. Why is it so big?

So let’s take it from the top. How many cups are we in fact supposed to be drinking at the seder?

2 You know what George Burns used to say about drinking: “It takes only one drink to get me drunk. The trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.”

So what’s our number at the seder? At what point do we call it a night?

3 . תלמוד בבלי מסכת פסחים דף צט עמוד ב משנה . ערב פסחים סמוך למנחה לא יאכל אדם עד שתחשך . אפילו עני שבישראל לא יאכל עד שיסב . ולא יפחתו לו מארבע כוסות של יין , ואפילו מן התמחוי . .

4 . שכל טוב שמות פרק יב ד "ה [ מתני ' ] מזגו לו ארבע כוסות דחמרא , כנגד ד ' גאולות , דכתיב ביציאת מצרים , והוצאתי והצלתי וגאלתי ולקחתי . .

5 . שמות פרק ו (ב ) וידבר אלהים אל משה ויאמר אליו אני יקוק : : (ג ) וארא אל אברהם אל יצחק ואל יעקב באל שדי ושמי יקוק לא נודעתי להם : : (ד ) וגם הקמתי את בריתי אתם לתת להם את ארץ כנען את ארץ מגריהם אשר גרו בה : : (ה ) וגם אני שמעתי את נאקת בני ישראל אשר מצרים מעבדים אתם ואזכר את בריתי : : (ו ) לכן אמר לבני ישראל אני יקוק והוצאתי אתכם מתחת סבלת מצרים והצלתי אתכם מעבדתם וגאלתי אתכם בזרוע נטויה ובשפטים גדלים : : (ז ) ולקחתי אתכם לי לעם והייתי לכם לאלהים וידעתם כי אני יקוק אלהיכם המוציא אתכם מתחת סבלות מצרים : : (ח ) והבאתי אתכם אל הארץ אשר נשאתי את ידי לתת אתה לאברהם ליצחק וליעקב ונתתי אתה לכם מורשה אני יקוק : :

6 . פסחים קיח.

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7 . רי"ף פסחים כו : בדפי הרי"ף

8 . השגות ה ראב"ד שם

9. Haggadah Shel Pesach, Prague (1784)

is not just about coming into the land – it’s also the catch word for the ultimate והבאתי redemption. Look at the depiction in this Haggadah. Who is tht riding on the donkey? It’s let’s drink , ראב"ד The fifth cup has a messianic quality to it. According to the ? מלך המשיח a fifth cup – the cup of the ultimate redemption.

4 A man goes to a zoo and sees a lion lying down in the same cage with a lamb. He is s messianic vision of peace on earth has finally been achieved. It must be a’ ישיהו .amazed sure sign that the messiah is here. He’s so excited. He runs over to the zookeeper and asks how he managed this feat. The zookeeper simply answers, "We put a new lamb in every morning.”

We’ve seen two positions – but there is a middle ground as well. And that is the position of the Rambam:

10 . רמב"ם הלכות חמץ ומצה פרק ח הלכה י ואחר כך נוטל ידיו ומברך ברכת המזון על כוס שלישי ושותהו , ואחר כך מוזג כוס רביעי וגומר עליו את ההלל , ואומר עליו ברכת כ השיר והיא יהללוך ה ' כל מעשיך וכו ', ומברך בורא פרי הגפן ואינו טועם אחר כך כלום כל הלילה חוץ מן המים , ויש לו למזוג כוס חמישי ולומר עליו הלל הגדול והוא ל מהודו לה ' כי טוב עד על נהרות בבל , וכוס זה אינו מ חובה כמו ארבעה כוסות , ויש לו לגמור את ההלל בכל מקום שירצה אע "פ " שאינו מקום סעודה . .

The . וסכ So we have Rashi and the Rashbam on one side. They’ve never heard of a fifth Rif and the Raavid are on the opposite end of the spectrum. They haven’t just heard of it – according to the Raavid, it’s actually a mitzvah to drink it. And the Rambam is in the middle – you could have it if you want to. Just make sure that together with this cup of .after the seder is over הלל הגדול wine you say

Perhaps you’ve already begun to anticipate the answers to our questions.

11 . טעמי המנהגים ס ' תקנא

Are we to drink a fifth cup or aren’t we? It seems as though it’s a great debate among the poskim. So what are we to do? The Gra provides a beautiful and elegant solution. represents a very neat compromise – כוס של אליהו Our fifth cup at the seder – our position. Should be there a fifth cup? Well – we’re not quite sure – so we’ll pour it, but we won’t drink it. And we name the cup after Eliyahu because we’re waiting with baited breath for the day on which he’ll come and resolve all of our doubts – including this one.

So we’ve effectively answered all of our questions: Because Elyahu is the ? כוס של אליהו Why do we have a cup that’s called the .1 great settler of doubts and disputes. We await the day when Eliyahu will come and give us clarity. 2. The source goes all the way back to R’ Tarfon’s 5 th cup. 3. And we know exactly why we don’t drink it – because pouring it without drinking it represents a beautiful compromise position. 4. Why the cup has to be so big is still a little unknown – but we’ve essentially solved all of our problems. Or have we?

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Is anyone left unsatisfied with this answer?

I can count at least half a dozen deficiencies with the approach arguing that kos shel eliyahu is the kos chamishi: ° It’s in the wrong place – should be before Hallel Hagadol? ?in the gemara or rishonim כוס של אליהו Why doesn’t anyone call it ° ° Why only one – everyone should have one? ° Why don’t we drink it? ° Why is extra large? against whom דעת יחיד Where else do we have this model of tipping our hat to the ° we paskun? We don’t set up an empty chanukiah with 8 unlit candles in deference to Beis Hillel on the 1 st night of Chanukah.

I’d like to back up one step before going forward. R’ Tarfon’s position is rejected. We don’t drink a fifth cup at the seder and I’d like to suggest that this is by design.

12 . דב רים פרק כו (ה ) ארמי אבד אבי וירד מצרימה ויגר שם במתי מעט ויהי שם לגוי גדול עצום ורב : : (ו ) וירעו אתנו המצרים ויענונו ויתנו עלינו עבדה קשה : : (ז ) ונצעק אל יקוק אלהי אבתינו וישמע יקוק את קלנו וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו : : (ח ) ויוצאנו יקוק ממצרים ביד חזקה ו בזרע נטויה ובמרא גדל ובאתות ובמפתים : : (ט ) ויבאנו אל המקום הזה ויתן לנו את הארץ הזאת ארץ זבת חלב ודבש : :

. ויבאנו We cite the passage – but where do we stop in the Haggadah? Before we get to There are over 5,000 haggados in print today. I challenge you to find one that includes .ח No one includes it. Universally, we end the paragraph with pasuk . ויבאנו the pasuk of Why don’t we say the whole thing? Why do we break midway? Because fundamentally, the author of the Haggadah is telling us something crucial about what we are doing on We’re . והבאתי seder night. It’s not about the fifth language of redemption. It’s not about not celebrating coming into the land of Israel. The idea was suggested – R’ Tarfon had but at the end of the day – his position is rejected. There is no fifth cup – הוה אמינא such a at the seder because on Seder night we’re not interested in our history of the conquest of the land.

In 1978, Rav Soloveitchik delivered a shiur called the nine aspects of the Haggadah. The first half of source 13 is actually a trasnscript of the shiur in the hope of preserving the actual voice of the Rav. Listen to what he said.

13. Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik: The Nine Aspects of the Haggadah, 1978

The eighth aspect. It’s a very strange one. I never told it to anybody. It’s my secret. Until tonight, it’s been my secret. I want you, I mean, the listeners here, not to misinterpret me and not to draw conclusions which are wrong. And at least have patience with me until I’ll finish explaining this aspect. All right, you are very curious now, so I hope you won’t fall asleep.

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? והבאתי or should we ignore it, the גאולה as a fifth medium of , והבאתי Shall we count the

This is the question. Of course there is an opinion by the Rambam, we don’t know a fifth cup of wine - and recite over - כוס exactly, that if he is thirsty, he may drink a fifth So apparently the Rambam had the number five - he was not sure . הלל הגדול this cup about the number five. Does it belong to table of freedoms, of four freedoms? So then we have not four freedoms but five freedoms! Or doesn’t it belong?

I saw great Jews drink just four . כוסות no one drinks five – כוסות Since we all drink four does not belong into the table of the והבאתי so it means that our conclusion is that כוסות four freedoms. Because had it belonged to that table it would have been a part of the table of four freedoms then it would’ve been not four cups but five. The expression ? חמש כוסות no one heard. Did you hear of חמש כוסות – everybody knows ארבע כוסות

Although the Jewish people did enter into the Land of Israel subsequent to the Exodus from Egypt this was not the primary goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim. It was their destination but not their destiny. The direct goal of Yetziat Mitzrayim was the revelation at Sinai. The goal was the transformation of a subjugated people into "a nation of priests and a holy nation." It was not just to grant them political and economic freedom, but also to create a sacred people. Moshe, at the episode of the burning bush, asked the Almighty: "Who (am) I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the Children of Israel out of Egypt?" (Shemot 3:11). And the Almighty gives an answer that seems at first to be a bit difficult: "Certainly I will be with you and this shall be unto you the sign that I have sent you: When thou has brought forth the people out of Egypt they shall serve God upon this mountain." What was the Almighty saying to Moshe; how did this answer his query? The Almighty was stating – know, Moshe, that the purpose of Geulat Mitzrayim is not political and social freedom. For that task, I would not have picked you. I did not pick you to be a diplomat or a king or political leader. Rather, the purpose of the Exodus is to create a holy nation, to make them a Torah nation. For this purpose, God says, I need a Rebbe, a teacher and mentor who will lead and guide this people. And for this role, you are the best candidate. Pesach is the holiday of Yetziat Mitzrayim and leads into Shavuot and Matan Torah. These two festivals do not focus on the Land of Israel as a central theme. According to Rambam in Moreh Nevukhim (3:43), it is Succot, rather, that is the holiday which celebrates the Land of Israel.

At the end of the day, our seder has four cups. Pouring a 5 th cup to symbolize the land would only serve to distract us from the real purpose of the evening – and that of course . סיפור יציאת מצרים in our unrelenting interest in the mitzvah of

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher is someone whom some of you may remember from his time here in New York City. He authored the Toras Shleimah – which is the authoritative compilation of midrash on the Torah – and he was instrumental in the design of Manhattan’s first eruv. He was also a close friend of Rabbi Jung. In fact, one of the volumes of Toras Shleimah is prefaced with an astounding tribute to his very dear

7 friend. I bring up Rabbi Kasher this morning because he maintained a stunning position. It was his view that today – in the wake of the establishment of the state of Israel – each it’s the cup of – והבאתי of us should drink the fifth cup! It is after all, he argued, the cup of the land of Israel. Now that we’re there – why would we not drink our fifth cup?

It represents the furthest and most extreme point on the spectrum of . שיטה It’s an arresting those who would advocate this 5 th cup. But with the greatest respect to Rav Kasher – no one ever accepted his position. No one drinks the fifth cup – and now we understand why. Because even if we’re back in the land – the celebration of Israel is not our goal on seder night. We drink four cups corresponding to the four languages of redemption – the words that describe how we were taken out of Egypt – not how we made it into the Promised Land.

So now – after all of this – we’re right back to the beginning. R’ Tarfon’s position in the gemara is categorically rejected. We drink four cups – not five. And while appearing elegant on the surface, the answer cited in the name of the Vilna Gaon – the notion that is some kind of halachic compromise – has too many holes in it for it to כוס של אליהו this be compelling. So what are we doing? Or – to put it differently – what is Eliyahu doing at our seder?

I’d like to suggest an approach based on what may appear on the surface to be an unlikely source: The haggadah of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Thanks to a very devoted Lubavitcher Shaliach, there’s a young man who’s becoming more interested in Judaism and more and more observant.

One day he comes to the shaliach and he says, “I’m ready. I’m ready to take the plunge and accept all the mitzvos. There’s just one thing I need before I’m ready. I just need to get a dollar from the Rebbe.”

The shaliach is trying to figure out a way to tell him. How’s he gonna break to him? He’ll be so disappointed.

So he tells the young man, “Ya know – it’s not really the most important thing – you can go forward with a dollar from the rebbe.”

But the young man is adamant. “I can’t do it. Without a dollar from the rebbe – I just won’t be able to do it.”

Finally the lubavitcher turns him and he says, “I’m sorry – I can’t think of anyone to tell this you more gently. I just have to be frank with you: The dollar is dead.” So turn now to source #14 – the Haggadah of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.

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14. Haggadah of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Eliyahu’s kos has nothing to do with the fifth cup mentioned in the gemara! In fact, the only dates back to the beginning of כוס של אליהו earliest reference to anything called the the18 th century: 15 . חק יעקב ס ' ת"פ ונוהגין באלו מדינות למזוג כוס אחד יותר מהמסובין וקורין אותו כוס של אליהו הנביא

Now we know what it’s not. Let’s see if we can figure out what it is.

Let’s take one step back before going forward:

There was so much . פסח מצרים I want to think back for a moment to the first Pesach – to קרבן going on that night – there’s a small detail we sometimes overlook. There was the and the matzah; we were busy despoiling the Egyptians and preparing for the פסח – But over and above all of this . מכת בכורות moment of Exodus itself. It was the night of . מצרים one more thing was happening on the night of the 15th of Nissan in

isn’t just the anniversary of the Exodus. It’s the anniversary of the night on which ליל סדר . ברית מילה the Jewish people performed

The Jews in Egypt – by and large – had become assimilated. They kept their names, their language and their dress – but this presumes that they had largely neglected the other aspects of their mesorah that had inherited from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov – including bris milah. But if you look at the pesukim closely, you’ll see that a prerequisite for eating the Korban Pesach is milah. The Torah actually says it twice:

16 . שמות פרק יב

9 ( מד ) וכל עבד איש מקנת כסף ומלתה אתו אז יאכל בו : : ( מה ) תושב ושכיר לא יאכל בו : : ( מו ) בבית אחד יאכל לא תוציא מן הבית מן הבשר חוצה ועצם לא תשברו בו : : ( מז ) כל עדת ישראל יעשו אתו : : ( מח ) וכי יגור אתך גר ועשה פסח ליקוק המול לו כל זכר ואז יקרב לעשתו והיה כאזרח הארץ וכל ערל לא יאכל בו:

[Rashi even quotes the position that if anyone in the home was uncircumcised, no one was permitted to eat the korban pesach.]

In fact, the medrash even goes so far as to say that the blood on the doorposts was the commingled blood of the korban pesach and the blood of bris milah – two great covenants coming together to form the ultimate sign that this was a Jewish home.

17 . רות רבה ( וילנא ) פרשה ו ד"ה א חצות לילה א"ר לוי באותו הלילה נתערב דם הפסח עם דם המילה שנאמר ( יחזקאל ט"ז ) ואעבור על יך ואראך מתבוססת בדמיך ואומר לך בדמיך חיי ואומר לך בדמיך חיי

There are two seminal moments of bris milah in the Torah: ° The first is Avraham (which incidentally – may have taken place on Pesach – see below). What’s the covenant: 18 . בראשית פרק יז (א ) וי הי אברם בן תשעים שנה ותשע שנים וירא יקוק אל אברם ויאמר אליו אני אל שדי התהלך לפני והיה תמים: (ב ) ואתנה בריתי ביני ובינך וארבה אותך במאד מאד : : (ג ) ויפל אברם על פניו וידבר אתו אלהים לאמר : : (ד ) אני הנה בריתי אתך והיית לאב המון גוים : : (ה ) ולא יקרא עוד את שמך אברם והיה שמך אברהם כי אב המון גוים נתתיך : : (ו ) והפרתי אתך במאד מאד ונתתיך לגוים ומלכים ממך יצאו : : (ז ) והקמתי את בריתי ביני ובינך ובין זרעך אחריך לדרתם לברית עולם להיות לך לאלהים ולזרעך אחריך : : (ח ) ונתתי לך ולזרעך אחריך את ארץ מגריך את כל ארץ כנען לאחזת עולם והיי תי להם לאלהים : : (ט ) ויאמר אלהים אל אברהם ואתה את בריתי תשמר אתה וזרעך אחריך לדרתם : : (י ) זאת בריתי אשר תשמרו ביני וביניכם ובין זרעך אחריך המול לכם כל זכר : : ( יא ) ונמלתם את בשר ערלתכם והיה לאות ברית ביני וביניכם : :

The first bris – is to accept Hashem as your God.

° The second bris is the bris that takes place on the doorstep to freedom in Egypt. It’s the bris of Korban Pesach. It’s the bris of peoplehood. The only way to be part of the Jewish people – is to perform this mitzvah. Why is it so important? Because it demands that you are part of the community. You can’t eat the korban pesach alone. You have to be part of a chaburah. You need to join a group.

19 . שמות פרק יב (ג ) דברו אל כל עדת ישראל לאמר בעשר לחדש הזה ויקחו להם איש שה לבית אבת שה לבית : : (ד ) ואם ימעט ה בית מהית משה ולקח הוא ושכנו הקרב אל ביתו במכסת נפשת איש לפי אכלו תכסו על השה : :

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! אות is the second bris. And just like the first – it’s called an קרבן פסח The

20 . שמות פרק יב: יג והיה הדם לכם לאת על הבתים אשר אתם שם וראיתי את הדם ופסחתי עלכם ולא יהיה בכם נגף למשחית בהכתי בארץ מצרים : :

Judaism’s first mitzvah starts with a recognition that crucial to our value system is the belief in a commitment to our family and to our community. If you don’t perform korban pesach, you’re cut off. In fact – there are only two positive spiritual excision. You know – כרת mitzvos in the Torah for which the punishment is what they are: bris milah and korban pesach. You need to do them both to be counted among our nation. You need to have a commitment to God. That’s bris milah. That’s the first bris. And you need to have a commitment to the Jewish people. That’s korban pesach.

[Parenthetically – maybe the 1 st bris took place on Pesach too!

בראשית פרק יח פסוק י ויאמר שוב אשוב אליך כעת חיה והנה בן לשרה אשתך ושרה שמעת פתח האהל וה וא אחריו : :

רש"י בראשית פרק יח פסוק י כעת חיה - כעת הזאת לשנה הבאה , ופסח היה , ולפסח הבא נולד יצחק , מדלא קרינן כעת אלא כעת . כעת חיה כעת הזאת שתהא חיה לכם שתהיו כלכם שלימים וקיימים ]: ]:

Now I think we’re ready to start tying things together: What are the two times Eliyah Hanavi comes to visit us? כסא :He was just here last week. We had a bris and every bris the mohel calls out ° כסא של this is Eliyahu’s special chair – and we place the baby on the – של אליהו .before we hand him over to the sandak אליהו ° The other time he comes to visit us is seder night. We’ve solved our mystery. It’s ,at a bris כסא של אליהו no wonder that he’s with us at the seder. Just as we have a – on seder night. Of course Eliyahu is with us כוס של אליהו so do we have a because it’s the night of our second bris.

We would have a chair for him it that were the defining component of the seder, but it’s not. At the bris, the sandak is defined by his role of sitting and holding the baby – so we pull up a chair right next to him for Eliyahu. On seder night, what defines the whole so it’s perfectly understandable that we make – ד ' כוסות trajectory of the evening are the . כוס for Eliyahu. Our gesture to him quite naturally is to give him his own אות our own

But if we’ve solved one riddle, we’ve created another: Why is Eliyahu Hanavi at a bris to begin with?

21 . מלאכי פרק ג:א

11 הנני שלח מלאכי ופנה דרך לפני ופתאם יבוא אל היכלו האדון אשר אתם מבקשים ומלאך הברית אשר אתם חפצים הנה בא אמר יקוק צבאות : :

22 . מדרש אגדה ( בובר ) במדבר פרק כה ד "ה [ יג ] והיתה לו אמר הקב"ה לאליהו אתה קנאתה על ע"ז בשטים , שנא ' פינחס בן אלעזר וגו ', וכאן אתה מקנא קנאתי , חייך שאין עושין ישראל ברית מילה עד שתהא רואה בעיניך , מכאן תקנו חכמים להיות עושין מושב כבוד לאליהו שהוא מלאך הברית , שנאמר ומלאך הברית וגו (' מלאכי ג ' א ' ): ): '

In the merit of his having defended the . מלאך הברית tell us, Eliyahu is the חז"ל As covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people, Eliyahu is forever destined to appear at . ברית every

What I’d like to suggest is that Eliyahu comes to the bris to give us comfort. The moment a parent brings his or her child into the covenant of Avraham Avinu is a scary one. This is not just a baby any more. This is a baby who is about to enroll in a covenant with Hashem. On his behalf, his parents are accepting the yoke of heaven for this child. What a terrifying proposition.

At just such a moment, Eliyahu Hanavi emerges – as if to put his hand on our shoulder and say, “I’m here with you. Things will be ok.” (Incidentally, that could be why – at a כשם שנכנס לברית כן יכנס לתורה :bris – everyone responds in unison and calls out aloud that the entire tzibbur is behind you mitigates against the loneliness – ולחופה ולמעשים טובים of the moment.)

Eliyahu helps remind us that we’re not alone.

Seder night is a tall order. We’re asked to see ourselves as if we’ve just left Egypt – to see ourselves as if we are recommitting to the mission and destiny of the Jewish people. We’re asked to undergo a second bris as it were. We’re asked to commit ourselves wholly and fully not just to Hashem but to the Jewish people. What an enormous responsibility! I’m now beholden to everyone who came before me – to everyone who will come after me. It’s so daunting. It’s so lonely.

This is why Eliyahu Hanavi comes to our seder. He comes to bring us a message of hope. He reminds us that – however enormous the challenge – we are capable of rising to the occasion.

My uncle was fond of quoting Rav Moti Elon who observed the following. He said, you know what the very last prophecy is? Private revelation continues into the Kesuvim part of Tanach. But prophecy that is intended to be communicated to the entire nation ends with Neviim – hence the name. So you know what it is? You know what the very last prophecy is Neviim is? As it turns out, we actually read it this morning. It’s the haftarh of Shabbos Hagadol. The last chapter in the book of Malachi:

23 . מלאכי פרק ג ( כג ) הנה אנכי שלח לכם את אליה הנביא לפני בוא יום יקוק הגדול והנורא : :

12 ( כד ) והשיב לב אבות על בנים ולב בנים על אבותם פן אבוא והכיתי את הארץ חרם: Behold, I will send Eliyahu Hanavi to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. And he will reconcile parents with children and children with parents.

To be part of the Jewish nation is to be part of the Jewish family. As in every family, there are differences of opinion – disagreements that threaten to fracture the integrity of the family unit. Our great hope is that by inviting Eliyahu to join us at our seder, we’ll be opening the door to the possibility of newfound connectedness. If ever we hesitate – if ever we pause to doubt whether unity among our relations or within our community is really possible – Eliyahu takes us by the hand and promises us that the day will come when our petty squabbles and fractiousness can be relegated to our past and we can indeed join together.

All but one of our questions has now been answered:

And ? כוס של אליהו Why do we have a cup that’s called the .1 2. What’s the source of the practice to have this additional cup? We have this cup on the table because seder night is the celebration of our bris – our covenant to be a part of the Jewish people. So of course Eliyahu is with us – just as he is with us at every bris. 3. If it’s so important, why don’t we drink it? We don’t drink it because it’s not ours to drink. It’s not one of the four cups – nor is it the fifth cup of redemption. We pour it because we’re waiting for Eliyahu to join us and for him to drink his cup of wine. 4. The only remaining question is why it’s so big?

24. Die Pessach Haggada, Rabbi Michael Shire

Maybe it’s so big because we need it to be large enough for everyone to contribute. .because everyone is signing on – כוסו של אליהו Everyone pours their wine into the Contained in that cup is a contribution from every participant at the seder – every person sitting around the table. Contained in that cup is the hope that every Jew will join us – that every member of our nation will be counted among the members of our family.

It’s our hope that Eliyahu’s appearances won’t be limited to the morning of a bris milah or the evening of the seder – but that he will appear one final time to hold our hands and .the moment of our ultimate redemption – גאולה שלימה prepare us for the

. חג כשר ושמח I wish each and every one of you a

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