Elijah\'s Cup, Chapter 3: \"Symbolism & Paradox\"

Elijah’s Cup

Chapter 3 – Symbolism & Paradox

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, propped his feet up on the desk, and gazed out his office window. He was off his game today, and didn’t have his usual focus. As the Passover holiday approached, he found himself thinking about his complex and contradictory relationship with Judaism. He was not very religious in the traditional sense, in that he rarely went to religious services, even on major Jewish holidays, and he could count on one hand the number of times he had been inside a synagogue since his Bar Mitzvah. And yet, he found comfort in the traditional Jewish religious observances in the home. He always fasted on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and he abided by the kosher laws of Passover, shunning the bread, pizza, and pasta which were the staples of his diet, and eating only matzah and unleavened foods for eight days. And, unlike many atheists who also shun the synagogue and the church, he had a deep and abiding belief and faith in God, as the creator of the universe and all of its wonders. Passover was a particular meaningful time for him, as it served to bring his family together. The sights, smells, and tastes of the traditional foods of the Seder ... the charoset (salad of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon), the moror (bitter herbs), the karpas (green vegetable), the zeroah (roasted lamb shankbone), the beitzah (hard-boiled egg), and of course, the matzah (unleavened bread), were sources of nourishment for both the body and the soul for him. Every year, for as long as he could remember, the Passover Seder was held at his grandmother’s house, and this year would be no different; she was insisting on it. His parents, who had just returned from their vacation trip to Israel, and assisted by his sister Sara, would be doing all of the cooking and preparation. There would be four generations of the family attending the Seder. His grandmother, Bella, his parents Joseph and Miriam, he and his sister, and his son Elijah. There was always an empty chair at the table with a place setting in remembrance of his grandfather Elijah after whom his son was named. And, on the table would be the magnificent, elaborately engraved silver Kiddush cup that once belonged to Elijah. According to family lore, it had been in his grandfather’s family for over two hundred years. The Kiddush cup has a special significance on Passover. According to ancient Jewish mythology, Elijah the prophet visits every Jewish home during the Passover Seder, and drinks some of the wine from the Kiddush cup, which, on Passover, is referred to as Elijah’s cup. ~9~

Elijah’s Cup

Chapter 3 – Symbolism & Paradox

Parents of young children always make a point of sending them to open the door during the Seder to let Elijah in. While the children are away from the table, one of the adults takes a quick sip of wine from Elijah’s cup. When the children return to the table, they see that the level of wine in the glass has dropped, and their desire to believe in the legend of Elijah is fulfilled. There was also something about the symbolism of the Passover holiday that Gabriel connected with on a deeply spiritual level. He wanted to share his love of the Passover story and its symbolism with his son Elijah, so he created a simulated Seder plate, so that he could explain each of the symbols to him. “Each food item of the Passover Seder serves as a symbol, the most important of which was the matzah” he explained to Elijah, as he gave him a taste of the crispy flat wafer. “The matzah is a symbol of the unleavened bread that the Jews took with them in their haste as they fled Egypt, not having time to wait for their bread to rise.” “The charoset represents the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to build the great pyramids of Egypt” he continued, as he gave Elijah a taste of the sweet chopped apples and nuts. “The maror symbolizes the bitterness and harshness of the slavery that the slaves endured” he explained, as Elijah responded with a “yuk” to the bitter taste in his mouth. “The act of dipping of the karpas into salt water represents the tears and mirrors the pain that they felt” Gabriel continued, as Elijah dipped a sprig of parsley into the salt water, and chewed it briefly before spitting it out. Gabriel smiled. “The zeroah symbolizes the Pesach sacrifice and the beitzah symbolizes the festival sacrifice that was offered in the Temple in Jerusalem.” Gabriel then brought out a Kiddush cup and filled it with wine. “During the Seder, each person places ten drops of wine on their plate to symbolize each of the ten plagues that God visited upon Egypt, until the Pharaoh agreed to free the Jews, and let Moses take his people out of Egypt” he explained. He dipped Elijah’s finger into the Kiddush cup, and created ten separate drops around the perimeter of a white dinner plate, while recounting each of the ten plagues. Like his father, Elijah seemed to enjoy this particular symbol the most of all. “Elijah’s Cup is also a symbol, and is deeply intertwined with the Jewish mystical concept of Redemption” Gabriel then explained. “What does Redemption mean?” asked Elijah. “Let’s save that discussion for another time” responded Gabriel. “But in our family, the legend of Elijah has a special meaning, because my grandfather’s name was Elijah, and like Elijah the prophet, his presence is felt, but not seen during the Passover Seder.” Not only that, but you are named after Papa Elijah, so we always have at least one Elijah present at our Seder table! Elijah seemed to like this concept, as he smiled broadly. ~ 10 ~

Elijah’s Cup

Chapter 3 – Symbolism & Paradox

As he thought about the symbolism of Elijah’s Cup, Gabriel wondered why he hadn’t been named Elijah after his grandfather. According to Ashkenazi Jewish tradition, sons are named after deceased ancestors. Hence, Gabriel’s father Joseph was not named Elijah, because he was born shortly before his father Elijah was killed in the war. By all rights then, Gabriel, the next male descendant born into the family should have been named Elijah. However, the memory of growing up without a father was simply too painful for Joseph to bear, so he named his son after his grandfather, Gabriel, instead. Hence, the first descendant in the family to be named after Elijah was Gabriel’s son. Gabriel thought about the significance of the Passover Seder to both the Jewish and Christian religions. He was surprised to learn that his closest friend, Danny McGuire, who attended catholic elementary school, was taught that the famous painting, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, was depicting the “Holy Communion” or final meal that Jesus shared with his Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. What he was not taught was that the meal being depicted in the painting was actually a Passover Seder. Of course, Danny, a veteran of six previous Passover Seders, was now intimately familiar with the story of Passover, and its commemoration of the Jews being led out of slavery in Egypt by Moses, and he has come to appreciate how Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. Gabriel had looked it up, and found that most scholars agree that both the Old and the New Testaments were written by Jews. The Christian Bible consists of the Old and New Testaments bound together as one book. The Old Testament is the same as the Jewish Tenach. Since the Old Testament is three times as long as the New Testament, 75 percent of the Christian Bible is the same as the Jewish bible. That is a lot of common heritage. But one would never know it, Gabriel mused, from the respective teachings of Christianity and Judaism. As he and Danny had discussed many times, the Christian church has done its best to ignore Jesus Christ’s Jewish heritage. As a result, many Christians are woefully ignorant of Judaism, and completely unaware that Jesus himself was born and died a Jew. On the other side of the coin, regardless of whether or not one accepts him as a Messiah, Jesus is obviously an extremely important historical and religious figure. And yet, Jewish writings and teachings do not even mention him. That, too, is a deliberate omission for reasons that defy logic and elude the grasp of rational thinkers. Gabriel viewed this contradiction as a major religious paradox. The essence of religion is love thy neighbor. Both Judaism and Christianity preach love, tolerance, and respect for one’s fellow man. And yet, he wondered, how can a religion, built upon a foundation of brotherly love, harbor a fear and mistrust which runs so deep, that its Jewish ancestors and Christian descendants are barely even mentioned in each other’s respective theologies? Doesn’t this represent a major paradox in the theologies of both Judaism and Christianity? ~ 11 ~

Elijah’s Cup

Chapter 3 – Symbolism & Paradox

In the past, Gabriel ran into a brick wall whenever he broached this subject with his Sunday school teachers, his Jewish teen school counselors, or even with members of his own family. Hence, he was grateful to have a friend like Danny with whom he could discuss these issues, and although they belonged to different faiths, their closely aligned religious philosophies formed a strong and lasting bond between them. Gabriel realized that it was time to come down off his mental soapbox. He still had to pick up Elijah from preschool, get him cleaned up, and dressed, and stop at the market on the way to Nana’s house to pick up some kosher wine for the Seder. At that moment, Danny poked his head into his office. “What are you still doing here partner? Don’t we have a Passover Seder to get to? As I recall, your grandmother doesn’t appreciate latecomers.” “I was just leaving, but you’re off the hook this time around Danny. Nana has not been feeling well, and we’re keeping the Seder pretty small this year ... just the immediate family.” Danny feigned disappointment. “I thought I was the honorary goy from the Irish Catholic side of your family” he said in mock protest. “I’ll tell you what, if you can find some kosher Irish beer, we’ll let you come” Gabriel said with a grin. “Fair enough” said Danny. “Give my regards to your folks, and give Bella a big Passover kiss for me.” “Will do” said Gabriel as he grabbed his jacket. “Anything else?” “Now that you mention it ... I wouldn’t complain if you brought me back some potato latkes.” “I’ll see what I can do” said Gabriel as he winked at Danny over his shoulder, and headed out the door.

~ 12 ~