How and Why to Fill Eliha’s Cup of Freedom at the Seder
Why is Elijah the Profit invited to the Passover seder? He is not part of the Exodus story. Get insights and learn more about this tradition in this article in the Jewish Journal by Rabbi Wilfond:
The Passover seder has surprising moments! For example, what’s going on with Elijah showing up at the seder meal? This is a bit unexpected because Elijah is not part of the Exodus story. He never lived in Egypt. Elijah lived about four centuries after the Exodus in the Land of Israel. So, what is Elijah’s connection to Passover?
To answer this question, we need to review a bit of Elijah’s life story. When Elijah was young, he burned with passion. In modern language, he could be described as a hothead with a very serious anger management problem. The Book of Kings describes Elijah losing his cool at an interfaith event with a group of the Prophets of Baal, one of the Canaanite Gods. In a rage, Elijah attacked 450 worshippers of Baal. After that, Elijah was a wanted man on the run. Elijah fled and arrived at Horev, the Mountain of God. God was not pleased. God told Elijah he was fired and then physically removed Elijah from the world by taking him up to Heaven in a whirlwind.