Our sages established that we drink 4 cups of wine at the Seder for the 4 expressions of redemption that Hashem commanded Moshe to convey to the Jewish people at the beginning of Parshas Vaera, “I will take you out… I will save you… I will redeem you… And I will take you (to Myself as a nation)…”
If these 4 expressions of redemption are so significant, that they should be symbolized by the Seder, why not have 4 matzahs which are a biblical commandment, as the Mishnah tells us that the reason we have matzah is “because our parents were redeemed from Egypt,” as opposed to 4 cups of wine that are only a rabbinical enactment?
Why do we need 3 matzahs? The simple reason is that 2 whole matzahs are for Hamotzi (just like on every Yom Tov, we make the blessing of Hamotzi on 2 whole challahs or matzahs), and an extra broken piece of matzah, poor man’s bread, to recite the Haggadah over.
However, being that everything in Torah is perfect and we know that the reason we have matzah is “because our parents were redeemed from Egypt,” the 3 matzahs must represent redemption as well.
With this understanding, we can conclude that there are two aspects of redemption, one is connected to the number 3 and is represented by matzah and the other is connected to the number 4 and is represented by wine.
What are these two aspects of redemption? And why are they represented by wine and matzah?
We are told that the Jewish people had sunken to such a low in Egypt that if they would have stayed a moment longer, they would have been totally lost, with no chance of redemption. It was only that Hashem pulled us out in the nick of time. In other words, it wasn’t on our merits or through our efforts that we were redeemed, rather it was a one-sided redemption; Hashem did it himself.
This is what the Exodus was all about, being redeemed by Hashem Himself, without our effort. Being that it was from Him, and we had no involvement, we have no pleasure in it. This is represented by matzah, which doesn’t have much flavor. It is poor man’s bread, symbolizing that we were poor in understanding and poor spiritually. We have 3 matzahs, representing the first 3 expressions of redemption, “I will take you out… I will save you… And I will redeem you…” These are all one-sided. They are all from Hashem himself without our involvement. Being that these 3 actually happened at the Exodus, they are represented by matzah, a biblical commandment.
The fourth, “And I will take you to Myself as a nation,” didn’t reach completion until we received the Torah at Mount Sinai, after 50 days of working on ourselves to be worthy of receiving Hashem’s Torah. Being that it came about through our effort and on our merit, we have pleasure in it; therefore, it is represented by wine that has flavor. Because it only reached completion 50 days after the Exodus, it is not totally connected to Pesach and, therefore, only a rabbinical enactment.
So you have 3 that is given and the fourth that is developed by the recipient. This will help us understand a few other things.
This is one of the reasons that we have 3 fathers and 4 mothers. In producing a child, the part of the father is to give, but the mother takes what she receives, and with her body’s effort, she develops it into a complete baby. Being that 3 represents giving, there are 3 fathers, and since 4 represents taking and developing through our own effort, there are 4 mothers.
The same thing is with Torah. The written Torah is called “The mussar (discipline) of your father” because it is given to us completely by Hashem, we have no input. It is similar to redemption from above, symbolized by matzah, a biblical commandment.
However, the oral Torah, the Mishnah, Talmud, etc. is called “The Torah of your mother” because our great rabbis develop and complete its details, showing the importance of personal involvement in the Torah. This is similar to redemption through our effort, symbolized by wine, a rabbinical enactment.
You may ask, the fourth is only one, so why do we have 4 cups of wine?
Because through our effort, we reveal that the essence and the purpose of the first three is for the fourth, so our effort begets all 4. Hence, 4 cups of wine.
May we soon merit to see the final redemption, which we deserve and earned. The time has come.
In this week’s Parsha, Vayera, we find words that, for me, are a source of Simcha, Emuna and Bitachon (joy, belief and trust in Hashem). “And Hashem remembered Sarah as He had said, and Hashem did for Sarah as He had spoken. And Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time of which Hashem had spoken.”
Why do these verses give me so much strength? How do they fill me with Simcha, Emuna and Bitachon?
For starters, we are not supposed to be here, our entire existence is a miracle. These verses express how Avraham and Sarah are blessed with a baby, though both were unable to have children. On top of that, he was 100, she was 90, far passed the age of childbirth. Hashem gave Sarah youth and opened her womb to conceive, to Avraham he gave the ability to sire children. The birth of Yitzchok, our forefather, is only by miracle.
I could only imagine Sarah’s joy when she recognized that she was pregnant after all this time, her anticipation to giving birth and finally, holding her baby in her arms. Just the thought fills me with joy.
Hashem promised Avraham that he would have children. Then he told them when. At the precise moment, Hashem gave them Yitzchok from whom we all descend.
In Hashem we can trust, in Hashem we can believe. Hashem does miracles, He makes promises and does what He says. One can never lose hope, because Hashem can and will do miracles for you, just as He did for Avraham and Sarah.
He will also keep His promise, to send Moshiach and take us out of this long and dark exile. The time has come.
ABOUT RABBI YITZI HURWITZ
Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz—father of seven, husband of Dina, and spiritual leader at Chabad Jewish Center in Temecula, Calif.—has been rendered immobile by ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Unable to speak or type, he uses his eyes to write heartfelt thoughts on the weekly Torah portion.
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