And You Shall Tell Your Children On That Day...
My son once asked me how children could possibly believe in Santa Clause. How, after all, could anyone believe that he delivered gifts to children all over the world in a single night, especially since there was a much more logical explanation – that the gifts were from their parents.
This is what I told him:
“Jewish children believe that Eliyahu Hanavi comes to each seder and takes a drink of wine. We all pour him a glass of wine, open the door, and stand up when he is supposed to be there, invisible. Children believe in Eliyahu because their parents tell then that it is true, and act as if it is happening. This is the same reason that non-Jewish children believe in Santa.”
This is what I told him:
“Jewish children believe that Eliyahu Hanavi comes to each seder and takes a drink of wine. We all pour him a glass of wine, open the door, and stand up when he is supposed to be there, invisible. Children believe in Eliyahu because their parents tell then that it is true, and act as if it is happening. This is the same reason that non-Jewish children believe in Santa.”
posted by dbs at 12:41 AM
6 Comments:
I don't recall ever really believing that Eliyahu was coming into the house. It was always sort of a "wouldn't it be nice if..." sort of ritual. I doubt whether anyone takes very seriously the idea that Eliyahu is out and about visiting houses, since this seems to run contrary to Jewish views of the spiritual world. But I wonder what the source of the ritual is...
I assume that it has to do with the 5th kose ‘V’hayvati’, referring to the future redemption, which Eliyahu is a percussive symbol. We refer to it as ‘Kose Shel Eliyahu’ not literally, but as a metaphor for welcoming the redemption.
Of course, Santa is not a dogmatic concept either, but has just taken on a popular meaning. There are more precise analogies, and probably none which are perfect. (Santa, after all, has become the ‘god of toys’.) However, whether we think that Eliyahu will actually come for a sip of wine or not, we do attribute many magical qualities to him; immortality, the ability to perform amazing miracles, etc..
What is a "percussive symbol"?
I assume you mean "precursive symbol" or maybe "percussive cymbal":)
As I understood it, another reason the cup was called Elijah's cup is because the discussion in Pesachim as to whether 4 cups of wine should be drunk or 5 ended with Teiku - it was left to Eliyahu Hanavi to render the final decision.
I was thinking about dressing up as either the Easter Bunny or Yoshke and visiting Orthodox homes during the sedorim. Fortunately, a bad cold and a little bronchitis stepped in.
I never told my kids the Eliyahu crap. I wish that story never got started, I find it embarassing.
SL: LOL.
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