הכוס הרביעי

THE FOURTH CUP OF WINE

- Lory Tobianah

 

The festival of Passover memorializes the Jewish people’s deliverance from slavery and, of course, the nation’s exodus from Egypt. Symbolically, this holiday represents the meaning of human freedom. It is for this reason that the Hagadah specifically points out, “In each generation, every individual should feel as though he or she had actually been redeemed from Mitzrayim.”

Anne Rachel Rabinowicz, the editor of The Passover Hagadah: the Festival of Freedom, explains that while we are reciting the passages of the Hagadah, we are performing not an act of remembrance of the oppression, but an act of personal identification at present. As such, it is customary that we drink the fourth cup of wine while reclining. In fact, throughout the duration of the Seder, one is supposed to be lounging in order to appreciate our great fortune to be living in freedom, in a country where we may freely practice our Judaism. This simple act serves as a reminder to the Jewish people, as we more often than not need to be reminded, that we must honour the gift of freedom.

Though wine is very central to the Jewish religion for we bless on the fruits of this drink on every holy day, one might wonder why we are required to drink four cups of wine on the Seder night. These four cups of wine represent four different aspects and levels of freedom. These four levels are described by four different expressions of redemption in the Torah, or “Arba Leshonot Geula.” The last cup of wine, it is argued, is the most important of the four. When we drink it, we recall not only G-d’s promise of redemption, as we do when drinking the first three cups, but this cup refers to eternal redemption which we constantly hope for: “I will take you to be My people and I will be your G-d” (Exodus 6:7). Although one may interpret this pasuk specifically referring to the Exodus of Egypt, one may also consider this pasuk, and therefore its representative, the fourth cup of wine, to signify eternal redemption. It is true that we are already G-d’s people and He is our G-d, yet we must constantly remind ourselves of the strong and everlasting connection that we have with the Almighty. In our day and age, when our brethren in Israel are experiencing difficulty, we must strive to stay united as one people, as G-d’s chosen nation, and hope and pray that G-d will once again redeem us in the future.

Moreover, the fourth cup of wine is in commemoration of the Jewish people becoming a nation. This redemption did not culminate in G-d delivering the people from Egypt, but it was a salvation which has shaped the Jewish people. They were a nation that had the distinction of being chosen for redemption by HaShem, and a nation that would cherish the miraculous events that led to their salvation. The Jews, at this point, became a nation that would carry the message of Exodus to the entire world for generations to come. 

Rabinowicz provides a beautiful commentary on the symbolism of wine. The Jewish People, in the biblical and rabbinical sense, is often likened to the vine. Like the fruit of the vine, the grapes, the Jewish people are continuously crushed, yet this agonizing process is the beginning, and not the end of the story, as one may suspect.(135) During the crushing, the fruit of the vine undergo a metamorphosis, turning into juices that gladden the heart, becoming the valued companions of rulers.  Similarly, like the fruit of the vine, Israel is destined for the table of the King of Kings.

 After blessing and drinking the fourth cup of wine, we recite the “Beracha Achrona.” Why is it that we bless both before and after we drink the wine? It is rather understandable why we would bless before we drink so as to thank G-d in advance for the wonderful and holy drink. It is more difficult to thank G-d, once we are satisfied and content. At this point, we feel as though we do not have any more worries to tend to. This is why the Jewish people specifically bless after the meal, or, in this case, after we drink the wine. By blessing afterwards, we show G-d our ability to overcome the natural instinct that we are carefree when we are satisfied. In this Beracha, which we recite following the drinking of the fourth cup of wine, we thank the Almighty for providing us with the wine, the fruit of the vine, the produce of the field, and for the desirable and spacious land that G-d has given our ancestors. The Beracha continues with our request to hurriedly rebuild the Temple and bring us to the land of milk and honey. Even while we are supposed to be happy on the Seder night, the fact that we recount that we are a nation without our Holy Temple, proves that we constantly feel the emptiness in our hearts. As such, in every opportunity that we have, whether it is a happy or sad occasion, we never forget to request our eternal redemption to Israel.

 

 

Elias, Rabbi Joseph. The Haggadah. New York: Mesorah Publications Ltd., 2000.

Goodman, Philip. The Passover Anthology. Philadelphia: the Jewish Publication Society, 1993.

Grylak, Rabbi Moshe. The Passover Haggadah. New York: Mesorah Publication Ltd., 2002.

Rabinowicz, Rachel Anne. ed. Passover Hagadah: the Feast of Freedom. United States: Rabbinical Assembly, 1982.