ארבע כוסות

The Four Cups

- Jonathan Pelikan

 

Everything in the Seder has a symbolic reason to it. We eat Matzah because there wasn’t enough time to let the bread rise. The Maror symbolizes the suffering in Egypt. The Charoset symbolizes the mortar used for the bricks. But why four cups of wine? Isn’t one for Kiddush enough?

            The general reason that we have come to know and learn is given in the book of Shemot, (6:6-7): "Therefore, say to the children of Israel 'I am HaShem, and I SHALL TAKE YOU OUT from under the burdens of Egypt; I SHALL RESCUE YOU from their service; I SHALL REDEEM YOU with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I SHALL TAKE YOU TO ME for a people and I shall be a G-d to you...." Basically, each cup represents something that G-d promises He shall do for us. They are called the “Four Expressions of Redemption.” They talk about being brought out from the slavery of Egypt and being given the Torah.

            The Sh’lah (Shnei Luchot HaBrit) provides another explanation, however. Passover is the celebration of the birth of the Jewish people. The Hagadah talks about the three Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their travels and stories, but there is no real mention of their wives, who we call the Matriarchs (Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah). So really, the four cups of wine represent and commemorate what our matriarchs did.

            The first cup of wine represents Sarah. She was known to spread the word of G-d, especially to idol-worshippers. The first cup of wine in Passover, and anywhere else, is used for the sanctification of the day, or Kiddush. Kiddush talks about G-d sanctifying the Jewish people with his commandments, and Sarah really did the same, by bringing people who strayed away into the religion and its ideas.

            Rivka is the second cup. We drink the second cup after hearing how Abraham left a family of idol worshippers to a life of monotheism. Rivka’s story is similar, because she also left a family with its foundation being idolatry to become one of the mothers of Israel and the Jewish people.

            The third cup represents Rachel. Her son was Joseph, who made sure there was enough food in the land of Egypt during the period of famine. We drink this cup after we have eaten the meal, and so therefore we think about Rachel, who was deemed “the mother of sustenance”.

            The fourth cup represents Leah, who graciously thanked HaShem after giving birth to Yehudah. After having her first three children, Leah knew that the creation of the Jewish People would be secure because she knew that her husband Jacob would be the father of the twelve tribes of Israel from his four wives. So when she had Yehudah, her fourth child, she knew that this was a gift from HaShem, something above and beyond, because her mission of bearing children that lead to the creation of the Jewish People had been accomplished at her third child, and Yehudah was not really needed. The connection is that we drink the fourth cup after reciting Hallel, which gives praise and thanks to HaShem.

            There are three possible moral lessons that can be learned from this idea. One is that wherever and whenever we see the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) being referred to and talked about, we must always look “around” the text for possible connections and relationships to the Matriarchs. The second lesson is that we should really delve deep into a certain topic and consider information and facts that would at first sight seem to be irrelevant, in order to understand the concept’s deep and true meaning. The third lesson is really to highlight some things the Matriarchs did, so that we will learn from them to become better people. From Sarah, we learn to sanctify G-d, and bring Him into our lives. From Rivka we learn to shun the belief in other gods, and if we should ever stray to that path, we are always able to find strength and ability to return, especially if we seek the strength to return from G-d. Rachel teaches us to understand that G-d sustains us, and provides us with the food we need. Finally, from Leah we are able to understand the gifts that G-d gives us, to understand that he does love us, and never says no to giving a little more, a bit above and beyond. But we must always remember to say “thank you.”

            So when you sit down at your Seder table on Pesach night, and drink the four cups of wine, don’t just think of the Exodus and receiving the Torah. Consider the four matriarchs. They deserve some recognition too!

 

 

 

Prero, Rabbi Yehudah. “Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Seder?” http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/pesach/5757/vol3no02.html