Ask the Rabbi May 2024
Rabbi Carla Freedman
May 2024 Question What is the reason for the “cup of Elijah” on the seder table?
May 2024 Answer After the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE, by the Romans, Jewish religious practice underwent a radical change. Until then, all the “official” religious practices centered around bringing sacrifices to the temple, at which the priests officiated. But with the demise of the temple, and the decline
in the influence of the priests, it became necessary to create new religious practices that were accessible and
meaningful to any and everyone.
This enterprise was well under way when the temple was destroyed, because of the rise of literacy in Judea and the rise of the “scholarly class”, aka the rabbis. They created new rituals and practices based on Torah, which was available to anyone (mostly male, of course) who could read.
In constructing the elements of the seder as we know it, the rabbis depended heavily on their source material in the Book of Exodus. There, in chapter six (verses 6-8), they found four explicit references to redemption. Turning those references into a ritual, the rabbis established the drinking of four cups of wine during the seder, in honor of those explicit promises of redemption.And they observed that there is a fifth reference, not quite as explicitly about redemption…and they wondered whether the new ritual should require five, not four cups of wine. There was considerable disagreement about this, and the rabbis agreed to defer the decision to the return of Elijah the prophet, who supposedly will come to resolve all outstanding religious questions by way of preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. So we pour that fifth and leave it on the table, to see whether Elijah will take a sip or not.
We open the door for Elijah during the second half of the seder and look for an answer to this question (it is also true that, in Europe during difficult times, opening the door “for Elijah” provided a chance to check for the presence of threatening mobs in the neighborhood).
So that’s why we put out a cup of wine for Elijah. Each year, I wonder if Elijah likes Manischewitz!
L’Chayim!
Please send your questions directly to me at:
cfsuncitycenter@gmail.com