Question: After the Passover Seder, what should we do with Elijah's cup of wine?
Dear Rabbi,
What do you do with Elijah's cup of wine after the seder? Following the seder, my aunt pours Elijah's wine back into the bottle of Manischewitz wine. It seems to me that Elijah being both angel and prophet, and assuming he sipped some (which we've been told he does), well it doesn't seem right to mix his wine back into the stuff we mere mortals will drink on the following night.
Kit
Answer: Thanks for the questions, Kit.
The idea that Elijah drinks from the cup is a lovely thing to tell children to keep them interested in the seder. However, this is a superstition that really has nothing to do with the actual meaning of Elijah's Cup.
We drink four cups of wine at the seder that correspond to the four promises made by God to the Israelites in Exodus 6:6-7 ("I will bring you out," "I will deliver you," "I will redeem you," "I will take you"). There is a disagreement about whether there should be a fifth cup for the promise in Exodus 6:8 ("I will bring you into the land").
According to the Vilna Gaon, this question of the "fifth cup" was deferred to be answered in the messianic age by Elijah the prophet -- hence, the "Elijah's Cup." Elijah does not drink from the cup; rather, we are waiting to hear from Elijah whether WE should drink from the cup.
What is the proper way to treat the wine in Elijah's Cup after the seder? Most follow the practice of your aunt by returning it to its bottle -- still waiting for an answer, as we are still waiting for the world's redemption.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
The idea that Elijah drinks from the cup is a lovely thing to tell children to keep them interested in the seder. However, this is a superstition that really has nothing to do with the actual meaning of Elijah's Cup.
We drink four cups of wine at the seder that correspond to the four promises made by God to the Israelites in Exodus 6:6-7 ("I will bring you out," "I will deliver you," "I will redeem you," "I will take you"). There is a disagreement about whether there should be a fifth cup for the promise in Exodus 6:8 ("I will bring you into the land").
According to the Vilna Gaon, this question of the "fifth cup" was deferred to be answered in the messianic age by Elijah the prophet -- hence, the "Elijah's Cup." Elijah does not drink from the cup; rather, we are waiting to hear from Elijah whether WE should drink from the cup.
What is the proper way to treat the wine in Elijah's Cup after the seder? Most follow the practice of your aunt by returning it to its bottle -- still waiting for an answer, as we are still waiting for the world's redemption.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
