Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

At the Pesach Seder, we are commanded to drink from four cups of wine/grape juice. There are many sources and traditions to this practice. 

The four cups delineate four major sections of the Seder: The kiddush, The tellings, The meal, and the vision for the future.

Rabbinic authorities have found different allusions to the four cups in Scripture. Perhaps the most telling is the four verbs of liberation preceding the Exodus, where God promises: V'Hotzaiti (I will take you out), V'Hitzalti (I will rescue you). V'Ga'alti (I will redeem you), V'Lakachti (I will take you). These four expressions may refer to political, economic, intellectual, and spiritual freedom. These four expressions speak of being free from want, free from oppression, free in mind and spirit, free to develop the gifts with which God has endowed us.

Alternatively, the first two terms may speak of freedom FROM, and the last two terms may speak of freedom FOR. An interesting discussion might be for you and your dear ones to share what we need to be freed from and freed for in 2021.

A variant reading found in some ancient texts reveals a debate about having a fifth cup of wine surrounding the praises near the end of the Seder. Some medieval authorities ruled that one could have an optional fifth cup of wine. Some modern authorities have declared that since the establishment of the State of Israel, one ought to consider drinking from a fifth cup. The difficulty on this topic in antiquity was deferred to Elijah the Prophet, who will resolve all unresolved Talmudic disputes. This is one of the reasons we have an Elijah cup at the Seder.

In the Torah, soon after the four consecutive verbs of liberation, we find a fifth verb, "V'Havaiti - I will bring you into the land." Thus, a potential fifth cup may apply to the miracle of the State of Israel nowadays and the Messianic aspirations for a complete return to Israel.

An interesting custom is to not to pour your own wine at the Seder but have someone pour for you, and you pour for someone else. Long before the expression, "pay it forward," the notion of someone serving you symbolized freedom associated with a cup of sweetness and joy.

So, what are you "wining" about? Do you have your beverage set for Pesach?

Sincerely,

Rabbi Howard Morrison