Why are there four cups of wine to drink during our seder meal?
- There are four divine promises made in the redemption story told in Exodus 6: 6-7: I am God, and I bring you out… I will deliver you…I will redeem you… I will take you unto me. Each cup of wine represents a promise.
- Pharaoh’s cup is mentioned in Genesis, chapter 40, four times. The cup is put into the hand of Pharaoh, but the Israelites (in the form of their seder) will take it from his hand and thank God with a cup of salvation four times over.
- Our four cups represent our four matriarchs: Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah!
- And, if you are thinking Jewish Renewal style, you might imagine each of these four cups representing the four worlds:
Assiya, a world of material reality and making.
Yetzirah, a world of forming and feeling.
Briah, a world of creating, imagining, thinking.
Atzilut, a world of spiritual transcendence.
May your Passover be filled with joy in all four worlds and may your four cups contain the promise of hope and good heart.
A liberating Passover to all!
Rabbi Babrara
