There are various opinions about which fruit grew on the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. One opinion is that the fruit was the grape, and that wine has continued to cause misery after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.

Noah, for example, planted a vineyard after the flood. When Noah produced wine from his crops and drank of it, his behavior became inappropriate. The Talmud talks about how G-d’s plans were dishonored both during the time of Adam and Eve and during the time of Noah.

Also in the Torah, in Genesis (19:30-36), there is a similar situation in the telling of Lot and the destruction of Sodom. Lot and his daughters escaped and found safety in the darkness of a cave. The daughters were fearful that they were the only ones left in the world and determined that they must bear children through their father to ensure the survival of humanity. They tricked Lot into getting so drunk that he did not know what he was doing.

Today, we utilize wine in our weekly honoring of Shabbat, in our celebration during holidays, and at Jewish simchas – but we use it to sanctify (make holy) the moments we are creating. Wine is a symbol of freedom and there is no better holiday for it than Passover.

We drink four cups of wine spanning the Seder. Each cup has its distinct place in the Seder. Each cup symbolizes one of G-d’s Divine promises related to our redemption. In Parshas Va’eira, G-d says, “… I am Hashem and I shall bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service (Egyptian slavery); I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I shall take you to Me for a people and I shall be a G-d to you…”
Each cup of wine that we drink represents one of G-d’s promises to us.

The fifth cup – set aside for Elijah – stems from a final statement “…I shall bring you to the Land… and I shall give it you as a heritage”. We pour the wine but do not drink it – a compromise worked out by our Sages who could not arrive at an agreement regarding what that last statement implied. Does G-d’s last promise of redemption imply that we will be given personal autonomy – the freedom to choose where we want to live (Israel or otherwise) or how we want to observe the commandments of G-d? Or, does that final assurance refer to the establishment of a Jewish society where we are free to live Jewish lives?

The Cup of Elijah is as vital as any of the other cups of wine at our Seder. It represents the uncertainty our Sages finally settled on when interpreting G-d’s words. It signifies how essential our own participation in asking questions and finding answers is to the observance of Passover.

Chag Pesach Sameach!

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At the Seder, we drink like royalty. It is customary that no one fills his or her own glass of wine. Someone else – the person sitting next to you, for example - pours for you. Wine symbolizes freedom and at Passover, we drink like a king – not a slave.

We drink the first cup of wine at the start of the Seder, after Kiddush.
The second cup comes just before the meal, after reciting the Haggadah story.
After Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals), we drink our third cup of wine.
And, the fourth cup comes at the very end of the Seder – after Hallel (Psalms of Praise) is recited.