People of the Land
Parashat Va’era, Exodus 6:2–9:15
Rabbi Isaac S. Roussel, Congregation Zera Avraham, Ann Arbor, MI
During the Passover Seder we drink four cups of wine. This is a very old tradition dating back to the Mishnah (Pesachim 10) where a minimum of four cups is prescribed. Our Sages over the centuries have given various reasons why there are four cups.
Yerushalmi (the Jerusalem Talmud) provides one opinion, which is that it is related to the number of times that the word “cup” is mentioned in Genesis 40. Pharaoh's cupbearer relates his dream to Joseph by saying, “Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.” Joseph tells him that the dream means that he will be restored to his position and once again place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand.
Yerushalmi records another opinion which says that the four cups refer to the four empires that will oppress Israel after Egypt, and that the cups point to God’s wrath that will also pour out on them.
The Vilna Gaon (an 18th-century Lithuanian rabbi) taught that the cups relate to four different worlds; this world, the world of the Messiah, the world of the resurrection of the dead, and the World to Come (Olam Ha-Ba). He stated that the one who fulfills the mitzvah of all four cups at the Seder is assured to inherit all of these worlds.
The Maharal (a 16th-century rabbi in Prague, of the Golem of Prague fame, connected the four cups to Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah, because it was through their merit that the Jewish people were born and redeemed.
Yerushalmi also connects the four cups to God’s four-fold declaration of redemption contained in this week’s parasha. In Exodus 6:6-7, God says:
I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt
I shall save you from their slave labor
I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm
I shall take you to myself as a nation
This is perhaps the most widely known opinion and the one most commonly referenced in haggadot.
Most people are familiar with the Cup of Elijah, which is placed on the Seder table and looks forward to the ultimate redemption brought about by Elijah’s announcement of the coming Messiah. At the Seder we all stand as someone checks to see if Elijah has come and then we sing the song “Eliyahu Ha-Navi.” As Messianic Jews, we of course understand that Elijah did come as Yochanan the Immerser, who prepared the way for Yeshua’s debut on the world stage.
What many people may not be familiar with is that this cup is related to a fifth declaration of redemption made by Hashem in that same passage. In verse 8 he says “… and I shall bring you to the land.” He indeed did bring us to the land that he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but centuries later we lost that land and the Temple. We do not drink of the fifth cup today as we await that ultimate and final redemption when Messiah Yeshua will return us to the Promised Land permanently and reign as King.
We Jews are often referred to as People of the Book, but we could just as equally be called the People of the Land. Our fate is inextricably intertwined with Hashem and the land he promised us as his priestly nation. This is expressed in the Amidah, which we pray three times daily. Its crescendo lies in the three petitions calling upon God to return us to the Land, rebuild the Temple, and restore the Davidic Kingdom.
Another expression of this intrinsic connection to the Land is found in a commentary in Midrash Rabbah on last week’s parasha. It asks why Joseph merited being buried in Israel while Moses did not. The answer is that Joseph throughout his life repeatedly referred to himself as a Hebrew, whereas Moses allowed himself to be called by Yitro’s daughters an “ish mitzri,” an Egyptian (Exodus 2:19). Our very identity as Jews is tied to the Land and one who denies this or hides it, according to the Midrash, doesn’t deserve the Land.
I recently read a story about a group of American Jews who greeted a famous rabbi in Jerusalem. He asked them where they were from and they answered with the various cities in the US where they lived. He replied to them, “No. You are citizens of Israel who happen to currently live in New York, Chicago, or Detroit.”
You often hear Christians say that they are “heaven-bound” or “citizens of heaven.” This latter phrase is a reference to Philippians 3:20 and says that they are merely sojourners in this world but really belong to the Kingdom of Heaven. Such a sentiment is commendable, but it also ignores the fact that we are not actually destined for heaven but for a renewed Creation with Israel and Jerusalem at its center. (It may also be an example of supersessionist “sanitizing” of Israel from the salvation story.) This destination is clearly foretold in passages such as Zechariah 14, where the nations will celebrate Sukkot alongside Israel, and Yochanan’s Revelation, where a New Jerusalem descends from heaven and becomes the Temple itself with God and Messiah Yeshua at its center.
We Jews are not heaven-bound, we are Israel-bound. The Kingdom of Heaven, in fact, has Jerusalem as its capital. It is the place where Israel and those from the nations joined to it through faith in Yeshua will worship Hashem and Messiah Yeshua for eternity.
Every year we fill the fifth cup and look for Elijah’s coming, hoping that this year will be the year that sees Messiah’s return. Every year we sing not only Elijah’s song but also L’shanah ha-ba’ah b’Yerushalayim (Next Year in Jerusalem). This is not expressing our desire to get on a plane and celebrate in Jerusalem next year, but that Messiah will come and we will all be in Jerusalem with him in joyous celebration; when we will be returned to the Land that is so intertwined with our fate as Jews. May we merit to see its coming, soon and in our days!