It's Coming Soon: the Great & Awesome Day of Reckoning | Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Beit Midrash

Shabbat and Holidays
The Four Cups

קטגוריה משנית

"Pour Your wrath out upon the nations that do not acknowledge You….pursue & annihilate them."

This powerful passage from the Hagada is recited as we open the door on Seder night for Eliyahu haNavi, who, by tradition, will announce the coming of Moshiach. It comes just after we have poured the 4th cup of the Arba Kosot.

Among the commentaries as to why we have 4 cups at the Seder is that each cup represents a different world power that oppressed us. The 1st cup represents Babylonia; the 2nd Persia; the 3rd is Greece & the 4th is Rome. While the first three empires have long since ceased to exist, "Rome" & its successors are still considered to be prevalent in various forms, & we continue to suffer from the hatred & anti-Semitism they exhibit. That is why this 4th cup is the one that immediately precedes the call for G-d to avenge the Jewish blood that has been spilled (& this is one more reason why davka red wine, resembling blood, is considered optimum for the Seder’s 4 cups).

As a nation, we have always maintained the highest moral code. Even under the greatest duress, when we have been discriminated against & treated cruelly, we did not respond in kind. Our enemies accuse us of precisely what they themselves are guilty of, & then the U.N.A.I. (United Nations Against Israel) comes & rubber-stamps it.

So although G-d could have brought Egypt to its knees with 1 massive Plague, the Makot come in much smaller increments, allowing Paro at any point to relent, repent & save his nation. And even when the final plague hits, the Killing of the 1st-born, we are told not to emerge from our homes to gloat over their misfortune or take revenge. We are to restrain ourselves and never compromise our holiness and G-dliness.

We endure terrible trials, but justice must be done at some point, because Hashem is the Eternal Balancer of the Books. The G-d of Justice will call all the nations to account for their evil actions, as well as their evil plans that never came to fruition (thanks in great part to Hashem’s holy messengers, the IDF).

The story is told of the rabbi who was once invited to an ecumenical conference & asked to give a prayer. He agrees, but on the condition that the other clergy keep it non-denominational & do not mention their specific religion. But the priest ends his prayer in the name of JC, & the imam gives his in the name of Allah. The rabbi, clearly incensed at their arrogance and abrogation of their agreement, gets up to the podium, shakes his fist at his colleagues & yells out: "Sh’foch chamatcha al ha-goyim!" He then looks out at the audience, smiles & says, "How good it is when brothers dwell together."

Patience & punishment, revenge & reconciliation, it’s all in the mix, & all in good time. Chag Kasher V’Sameach.

The Four Cups