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The Great Sabbath, Elijah's Cup, and the Unkept Promise

4/11/2014

 
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Tonight begins Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Passover whose name means, "The Great Sabbath." It is reasonable to ask why this, of all sabbaths, would have the distinction of being called "great." 

The most common explanation comes from the last verses of the special haftarah reading of this day. The prophet Malachi says, "Behold, I will send Elijah the prophet to you before the coming great and awesome day of Adonai. He shall turn the hearts of the parents to the children, and the hearts of the children to their parents, lest I come to strike the land with destruction" (Malachi 3:23-24). Traditionally, the first of these two verses is repeated after the last, so the reading in Hebrew ends with the words, "The coming great and awesome day of Adonai." 

So, if this is the reason for the name of this Shabbat, we call it "great" because it reminds us that God's redemption is not yet complete and there is still a "great and awesome" day to come. On that day, Elijah the Prophet, the herald of redemption, will "turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to their parents." What does that phrase mean?

Passover is a holiday that is all about redemption. We remember how God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt. Yet, in the Haggadah, the rabbis constantly emphasize that the redemption we experienced at the Red Sea is only a provisional redemption. There is still an even greater redemption that we are waiting for – one in which the entire world will be redeemed. Based in part on the verse from this haftarah, the rabbis made Elijah the symbol of that promised and as-of-yet unfulfilled redemption. 

The large cup of wine that sits in the middle of our seder table is not called "Elijah's Cup," as many suppose, because the prophet will silently and invisibly come drink from it during the seder. Its meaning is far deeper than that. On an evening when we drink four cups of wine to represent the four promises that God made to the Israelites, Elijah's Cup is the fifth cup. It is the cup from which we cannot yet drink because the promise has not yet been fulfilled. 

What is that promise? It is that "the hearts of the parents will turn toward the children, and the hearts of the children will turn toward their parents." The coming redemption, the great one that we still await, is that there will be reconciliation between generations. The world will not be fully redeemed until older people, who think they have seen it all, identify with childhood's sense of wonder and are able to look at the world as the shining, new-in-every moment place that it is. The promise will not be fulfilled until children deeply appreciate the wisdom of a received tradition that instructs them in how to live a life of meaning and joy.

Is that all it takes? Yes. When the nations that have fought for generations are able to look at each other the way children look at each other, then we will be able to hold each others hands in peace. When children are taught to find love and joy in ancient traditions, not confinement and rebuke, then there will be an end to resentment and rebellion. 

The message of Elijah the prophet, in the prophecy of Malachi and in the symbolism of the seder table, is that redemption will not be delivered to us from on high, rather, it is held in the human heart. When we open to each other and see each other for the beautiful, brand new, ancient and splendid beings that we are, that is when the final promised redemption will come. 

May it be soon and in our days.


Other Posts on This Topic:
And After the Fire — a Still, Small Voice
Matzah and Chameitz

Reb Rachel link
4/12/2014 01:12:36 am

This is really beautiful, Jeff. Kol hakavod.

(Also I think this may inspire my daily poem for today -- on the #blogExodus theme "redeem"...)

Alan Kohn
4/12/2014 03:40:37 am

Amen!

Levi
5/22/2014 02:46:58 am

Your exegesis of the end of Malachi (and your Tanakh) is interesting, though I suppose the Jewish families are more dedicated to each other and the Jewish family (national) identity than most. But suppose that Elyahu had it as his goal to make a closer family of Jews than what now exist...and changed the nature of children and seniors; exactly how long would his nature-changing miracle last? One generation? Two? Or perhaps you have written something touching to the ears, but still the heart of the prophecy has not been interpreted. Would Lord YHVH really threaten to strike the earth with "utter destruction" if seniors stayed obstinate in old memories or children lacked patience for history or tales of the old days?

The "fathers" spoken of in the passage and "remember the Torah of Moshe" speak of a return of Jewish hearts of today- the "children" or offspring- to the hearts of the ancients who carried the Law and faith in their hearts, long before the straying traditions of rabbinical Judaism and mysticism. Today polls show that around 70% of American Jews are athiests. Most Jews do not know Torah and attend Spiritless synagogue for cultural tradition- in pride of Jewish heritage. To sweeten the interpretation away from the truth is an assault on truth. Jews could benefit from being a little less close in family traditions and a little closer at heart to the Father of all. Whatever the rabbis are doing, they are utterly failing and turning Jews away from the Lord, though they think that they always say the right and true things. Truly you do need Elyahu to visit you, but for more than one day in the year. Prepare the tables of your hearts, and open the door of truths, and perhaps then you will see your prophet come to you and speak of the redemption of the Messiah.


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