Elijah's Cup

This cup of wine is called "Kos Eliyahu" the cup of Elijah a cup from which we cannot drink, until the entire world is redeemed from pain, injustice, and denial of love. In the ninth century B.C.E., a farmer arose to challenge the domination of the ruling elite. In his tireless and passionate advocacy on behalf of the common people, and his ceaseless exposure of the corruption and waste of the court, Elijah sparked a movement and created a legend that would inspire people for generations to come.

May the All Merciful send us Elijah the Prophet to comfort us with tidings of deliverance.

Before he rose to heaven, Elijah declared that he would return once each generation in the guise of a poor or oppressed person, coming to people's doors to see how he would be treated. By the treatment offered this poor person, who would be Elijah himself, he would know whether the population had reached a level of humanity making them capable of participating in the dawn of the Messianic age.

Elijah opens up for us the realm of mystery and wonder. Let us now open the door for Elijah!

(Open the door to the outside)

Tonight we remember the millions of our sisters and brothers who were killed by the Nazis and their sympathizers in Europe, and the millions of others who have been martyred throughout history. What was done to us was wrong, an assault on the sanctity of human life and on God. Our tradition teaches us to affirm our righteous anger and then to move on, as we open the door for Elijah, the prophet who heralds the coming of the Messiah and a world in which all peoples will coexist peacefully, acknowledging the image of God in one another. To deny the possibility of fundamental transformation, to be stuck in the pain of past oppression, to build our religion solely around memories of the Holocaust and other forms of suffering, is to give the ultimate victory to those who oppressed us. To testify to God's presence in the world is to insist on shifting our focus from pain to hope, and to dedicate our energies to transforming this world and ourselves. We still believe in a world based on love, generosity, and open-heartedness. We continue to affirm the Unity of All Being.

Eliyahu ha-Navi, Eliyahu ha-Tishbi,

Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu ha-Giladi.

Bimheirah, b'yameinu yavo eileinu,

Im Mashiach ben David, im Mashiach ben David.

Eliyahu ha-Navi, Eliyahu ha-Tishbi,

Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu ha-Giladi.

From beyond, Elijah's spirit enters in these walls / And tastes again with us the wine of endless promise.

(Door is closed.)