"Next Year in Jerusalem"
Jonathan D. Sarna, THE TABOO AGAINST “NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM” IN THE AMERICAN HAGGADAH (1837-1942) in Emet le-Ya‘akov: Facing the Truths of History: Essays in Honor of Jacob J. Schacter (Boston, 2023): various excerpts
The more widely disseminated Union Haggadah (1st ed, 1907, revised 1908), which became the standard text in many Reform Jewish homes, echoed Rosenau in including a good deal of Hebrew (“the really valuable contents of the Haggadah have been scrupulously preserved.”) But its theory of translation differed completely. The Hebrew and English texts, it thought, should match. So rather than maintaining the Zion and Temple references of the original Hebrew and Aramaic text, as Rosenau did, it altered many of them. The ancient Aramaic declaration at the opening of the seder, “may the year to come find us in the Land of Israel,” was dropped in favor of a neo-Aramaic declaration translated as, “Let us, whom God’s mercy has freed, now remember those who are still oppressed and resolve to aid them with all our means.” In the case of Le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-yerushalayim, it eliminated the words entirely, concluding instead: “And may all the wrongs that still prevail/Be righted in the coming year, Amen!”
.... Just how much resistance remained to the idea of Jewish restoration to Jerusalem may be seen in another inter-war years’ haggadah: Hyman E. Goldin’s Standard Haggadah first published in 1930 and reprinted at least through 1946. A Lithuanian-born rabbi, scholar, educator, prolific author, and Orthodox rabbi, Goldin produced a handsomely printed and illustrated bilingual haggadah that translated Le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-yerushalayim as a statement of fact: “Next year we shall be in Jerusalem.” An apologetic footnote below the English text, however, admonished readers not to take the announcement at face value or as a declaration of Zionist intent. “This verse,” the note explains, “expresses hope for the arrival of the Messianic era.
...All of Cecil Roth’s taboo-breaking British haggadot translated Le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-yerushalayim as an imperative: “Next Year in Jerusalem.” As Nazism rose and European Jewry’s prospects continued to darken, that became the normative translation for haggadot published in the United States as well.
Two highly influential American haggadot published successively in 1941 and 1942 set this change in motion. [My note: Mordechai Kaplan and Louis Finkelstein] Professors at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York produced both of them, and wartime politics infused both of them. Both, for the first time, included music for singing le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-yerushalayim, thereby making it a more central element within the seder. And both haggadot, notwithstanding their immense ideological differences, translated le-shanah ha-ba’ah bi-yerushalayim with an eye toward Zion’s literal rebirth.
The Haggadah of Passover, edited by Rabbi David and Tamar de Sola Pool (New York: Jewish Welfare Board, 1943)
Telling an Incomplete Story
מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־עֲזַרְיָה וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי־בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.
It happened once [on Pesach] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and said to them, "The time of [reciting] the morning Shema has arrived."
אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־עֲזַרְיָה הֲרֵי אֲנִי כְּבֶן שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא זָכִיתִי שֶׁתֵּאָמֵר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם בַּלֵּילוֹת עַד שֶׁדְּרָשָׁהּ בֶּן זוֹמָא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ. יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הַיָּמִים. כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הַלֵּילוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ לְהָבִיא לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ:
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said, "Behold I am like a man of seventy years and I have not merited [to understand why] the exodus from Egypt should be said at night until Ben Zoma explicated it, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 16:3), 'In order that you remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life;' 'the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked during] the days, 'all the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked also during] the nights." But the Sages say, "'the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked in] this world, 'all the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked also] in the days of the Messiah."
גְּמָ׳ תַּנְיָא, אָמַר לָהֶם בֶּן זוֹמָא לַחֲכָמִים: וְכִי מַזְכִּירִין יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ! וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר ״הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם יקוק וְלֹא יֹאמְרוּ עוֹד חַי יקוק אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כִּי אִם חַי יקוק אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָה וַאֲשֶׁר הֵבִיא אֶת זֶרַע בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹנָה וּמִכֹּל הָאֲרָצוֹת אֲשֶׁר הִדַּחְתִּים שָׁם״. אָמְרוּ לוֹ: לֹא שֶׁתֵּעָקֵר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם מִמְּקוֹמָהּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁתְּהֵא שִׁעְבּוּד מַלְכֻיוֹת עִיקָּר, וִיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם טָפֵל לוֹ. כַּיּוֹצֵא בּוֹ אַתָּה אוֹמֵר: ״לֹא יִקָּרֵא שִׁמְךָ עוֹד יַעֲקֹב כִּי אִם יִשְׂרָאֵל יִהְיֶה שְׁמֶךָ״, לֹא שֶׁיֵּעָקֵר ״יַעֲקֹב״ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ, אֶלָּא ״יִשְׂרָאֵל״ עִיקָּר וְ״יַעֲקֹב״ טָפֵל לוֹ. וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר ״אַל תִּזְכְּרוּ רִאשֹׁנוֹת וְקַדְמֹנִיּוֹת אַל תִּתְבֹּנָנוּ״: אַל תִּזְכְּרוּ רִאשֹׁנוֹת״ — זֶה שִׁעְבּוּד מַלְכֻיוֹת, ״וְקַדְמֹנִיּוֹת אַל תִּתְבֹּנָנוּ״ — זוֹ יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם. ״הִנְנִי עֹשֶׂה חֲדָשָׁה עַתָּה תִצְמָח״, תָּנֵי רַב יוֹסֵף: זוֹ מִלְחֶמֶת גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה — לְאָדָם שֶׁהָיָה מְהַלֵּךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ וּפָגַע בּוֹ זְאֵב וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה זְאֵב. פָּגַע בּוֹ אֲרִי וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה אֲרִי. פָּגַע בּוֹ נָחָשׁ וְנִיצַּל מִמֶּנּוּ, שָׁכַח מַעֲשֵׂה שְׁנֵיהֶם, וְהָיָה מְסַפֵּר וְהוֹלֵךְ מַעֲשֵׂה נָחָשׁ. אַף כָּךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל — צָרוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת מְשַׁכְּחוֹת אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת.
GEMARA: The fundamental dispute between Ben Zoma and the Sages appears in the mishna, and the baraita cites its continuation. Disputing the position of the Sages that: All the days of your life, refers to both this world and the days of the Messiah, it was taught in a baraita that Ben Zoma said to the Sages: And is the exodus from Egypt mentioned in the days of the Messiah? Was it not already said that Jeremiah prophesied that in the days of the Messiah: “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, that they will no longer say: The Lord lives Who brought up the children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt. Rather: As the Lord lives, that brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel up out of the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them” (Jeremiah 23:7–8). The Sages rejected this claim and they said to him that these verses do not mean that in the future the exodus from Egypt will be uprooted from its place and will be mentioned no more. Rather, redemption from the subjugation of the kingdoms will be primary and the exodus from Egypt will be secondary. On a similar note, you say: The meaning of the expressions: It will not say, and they will no longer mention, are not absolute, as in the verse: “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob; rather, Israel will be your name” (Genesis 35:10). There, too, the meaning is not that the name Jacob will be entirely uprooted from its place, but that the name Israel will be the primary name to which the name Jacob will be secondary, as the Torah continues to refer to him as Jacob after this event. And it also says that the ultimate redemption will overshadow the previous redemption in the verse: “Do not remember the former events, and do not ponder things of old” (Isaiah 43:18), and the Gemara explains: “Do not remember the former events,” that is the subjugation to the kingdoms, and “do not ponder things of old,” that is the exodus from Egypt, which occurred before the subjugation to the nations. With regard to the following verse: “Behold, I will do new things, now it will spring forth” (Isaiah 43:19), Rav Yosef taught a baraita: This refers to the future war of Gog and Magog, which will cause all earlier events to be forgotten. The Gemara cites a parable: To what is this comparable? To a person who was walking along the way and a wolf accosted him and he survived it, and he continued to relate the story of the wolf. A lion accosted him and he survived it, and he continued to relate the story of the lion. A snake accosted him and he survived it, he forgot both the lion and the wolf, and he continued to relate the story of the snake. Each encounter was more dangerous and each escape more miraculous than the last, so he would continue to relate the most recent story. So too with Israel; more recent troubles cause the earlier troubles to be forgotten.
The Missing Verse
(א) וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה וִֽירִשְׁתָּ֖הּ וְיָשַׁ֥בְתָּ בָּֽהּ׃ (ב) וְלָקַחְתָּ֞ מֵרֵאשִׁ֣ית ׀ כׇּל־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר תָּבִ֧יא מֵֽאַרְצְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֛יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָ֖ךְ וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ בַטֶּ֑נֶא וְהָֽלַכְתָּ֙ אֶל־הַמָּק֔וֹם אֲשֶׁ֤ר יִבְחַר֙ יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ לְשַׁכֵּ֥ן שְׁמ֖וֹ שָֽׁם׃ (ג) וּבָאתָ֙ אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר יִהְיֶ֖ה בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֑ם וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֗יו הִגַּ֤דְתִּי הַיּוֹם֙ לַיקוק אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ כִּי־בָ֙אתִי֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע יקוק לַאֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ לָ֥תֶת לָֽנוּ׃ (ד) וְלָקַ֧ח הַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַטֶּ֖נֶא מִיָּדֶ֑ךָ וְהִ֨נִּיח֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֕י מִזְבַּ֖ח יקוק אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (ה) וְעָנִ֨יתָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֜ לִפְנֵ֣י ׀ יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֗יךָ אֲרַמִּי֙ אֹבֵ֣ד אָבִ֔י וַיֵּ֣רֶד מִצְרַ֔יְמָה וַיָּ֥גׇר שָׁ֖ם בִּמְתֵ֣י מְעָ֑ט וַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֕ם לְג֥וֹי גָּד֖וֹל עָצ֥וּם וָרָֽב׃ (ו) וַיָּרֵ֧עוּ אֹתָ֛נוּ הַמִּצְרִ֖ים וַיְעַנּ֑וּנוּ וַיִּתְּנ֥וּ עָלֵ֖ינוּ עֲבֹדָ֥ה קָשָֽׁה׃ (ז) וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־יקוק אֱלֹקֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יקוק אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עׇנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶֽת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃ (ח) וַיּוֹצִאֵ֤נוּ יקוק מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם בְּיָ֤ד חֲזָקָה֙ וּבִזְרֹ֣עַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבְמֹרָ֖א גָּדֹ֑ל וּבְאֹת֖וֹת וּבְמֹפְתִֽים׃ (ט) וַיְבִאֵ֖נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֙נוּ֙ אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃ (י) וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֤ה הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־רֵאשִׁית֙ פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י יקוק וְהִנַּחְתּ֗וֹ לִפְנֵי֙ יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֔יךָ וְהִֽשְׁתַּחֲוִ֔יתָ לִפְנֵ֖י יקוק אֱלֹקֶֽיךָ׃ (יא) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֣ בְכׇל־הַטּ֗וֹב אֲשֶׁ֧ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֛ יקוק אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ וּלְבֵיתֶ֑ךָ אַתָּה֙ וְהַלֵּוִ֔י וְהַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ {ס}
(1) When you enter the land that your God יקוק is giving you as a heritage, and you possess it and settle in it, (2) you shall take some of every first fruit of the soil, which you harvest from the land that your God יקוק is giving you, put it in a basket and go to the place where your God יקוק will choose to establish the divine name. (3) You shall go to the priest in charge at that time and say to him, “I acknowledge this day before your God יקוק that I have entered the land that יקוק swore to our fathers to assign us.” (4) The priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of your God יקוק. (5) You shall then recite as follows before your God יקוק: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. (6) The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. (7) We cried to יקוק, the God of our ancestors, and יקוק heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. (8) יקוק freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents, (9) bringing us to this place and giving us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. (10) Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, יקוק, have given me.” You shall leave it before your God יקוק and bow low before your God יקוק. (11) And you shall enjoy, together with the [family of the] Levite and the stranger in your midst, all the bounty that your God יקוק has bestowed upon you and your household.
(ב) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֱלֹקִ֖ים אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו אֲנִ֥י יקוק׃ (ג) וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יקוק לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃ (ד) וְגַ֨ם הֲקִמֹ֤תִי אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אִתָּ֔ם לָתֵ֥ת לָהֶ֖ם אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֵ֛ת אֶ֥רֶץ מְגֻרֵיהֶ֖ם אֲשֶׁר־גָּ֥רוּ בָֽהּ׃ (ה) וְגַ֣ם ׀ אֲנִ֣י שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶֽת־נַאֲקַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר מִצְרַ֖יִם מַעֲבִדִ֣ים אֹתָ֑ם וָאֶזְכֹּ֖ר אֶת־בְּרִיתִֽי׃ (ו) לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ אֲנִ֣י יקוק וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ (ז) וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹקִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י יקוק אֱלֹ֣קֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ח) וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י לָתֵ֣ת אֹתָ֔הּ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֑ב וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֹתָ֥הּ לָכֶ֛ם מוֹרָשָׁ֖ה אֲנִ֥י יקוק׃
(2) God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am יקוק. (3) I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name יקוק. (4) I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. (5) I have now heard the moaning of the Israelites because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. (6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am יקוק. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, יקוק, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. (8) I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I יקוק.”
The Four - or Five Cups!
ארבע כוסות - כנגד ארבעה לשוני גאולה האמורים בגלות מצרים והוצאתי אתכם והצלתי אתכם וגאלתי אתכם ולקחתי אתכם בפרשת וארא:
Four cups- corresponding to the four terms of redemption from Egypt in Parashat Vaera
Eliezer Schweid, The Jewish Perspective of Time (Aronson, 2000):213-214
מַאי ״בִּרְכַּת הַשִּׁיר״? רַב יְהוּדָה אָמַר: ״יְהַלְלוּךָ יקוק אֱלֹהֵינוּ״. וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: ״נִשְׁמַת כָּל חַי״. תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: רְבִיעִי גּוֹמֵר עָלָיו אֶת הַהַלֵּל, וְאוֹמֵר הַלֵּל הַגָּדוֹל, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי טַרְפוֹן. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים: ״ה׳ רוֹעִי לֹא אֶחְסָר״.
The Gemara asks: What is the blessing of the song mentioned in the mishna? Rav Yehuda said: It is the blessing that begins with: They shall praise You, Lord, our God. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said that one also recites: The breath of all living, a prayer that follows the verses of praise [pesukei dezimra]. The Sages taught in a baraita: With regard to the fourth cup, one completes hallel over it and recites the great hallel; this is the statement of Rabbi Tarfon. And some say that one recites: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalms 23:1), in appreciation of the food he ate at the meal.
Note: There is a variant texts, rejected by some and accepted by others, that states the Great Hallel is recited over a fifth cup of wine. (Numerous sources, including Rif and Siddur Rav Amram Gaon)
וְאַחַר כָּךְ נוֹטֵל יָדָיו וּמְבָרֵךְ בִּרְכַּת הַמָּזוֹן עַל כּוֹס שְׁלִישִׁי וְשׁוֹתֵהוּ. וְאַחַר כָּךְ מוֹזֵג כּוֹס רְבִיעִי וְגוֹמֵר עָלָיו אֶת הַהַלֵּל. וְאוֹמֵר עָלָיו בִּרְכַּת הַשִּׁיר וְהִיא יְהַלְלוּךָ יקוק כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ וְכוּ'. וּמְבָרֵךְ בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן וְאֵינוֹ טוֹעֵם אַחַר כָּךְ כְּלוּם כָּל הַלַּיְלָה חוּץ מִן הַמַּיִם. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לִמְזֹג כּוֹס חֲמִישִׁי וְלוֹמַר עָלָיו הַלֵּל הַגָּדוֹל מֵ(תהילים קלו א) "הוֹדוּ לַיקוק כִּי טוֹב" עַד (תהילים קלז א) "עַל נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל". וְכוֹס זֶה אֵינוֹ חוֹבָה כְּמוֹ אַרְבָּעָה כּוֹסוֹת. וְיֵשׁ לוֹ לִגְמֹר אֶת הַהַלֵּל בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁיִּרְצֶה אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְקוֹם סְעֵוּדָּה:
Afterwards, he washes his hands and recites the grace after meals over a third cup [of wine] and drinks it.Afterwards, he pours out a fourth cup and completes the Hallel over it, reciting upon it the blessing of song—i.e., "May all Your works praise You, God..." - recites the blessing, borey pri hagefen, [and drinks the wine]. Afterwards, he does not taste anything, with the exception of water, throughout the entire night. It is permissible to mix a fifth cup and recite upon it "the great Hallel" - i.e., from "Give thanks to God, for He is good" until "By the rivers of Babylon." This cup is not an obligation like the other cups. One may complete the Hallel wherever one desires, even though it is not the place where one ate.
קונטרס אחרון כוס של אליהו. ובספר תולדות אסתר כתב הטעם שנוהגין למזוג כוס אחד יותר וקורין אותו כוס אליהו הנביא. עפ"י הירושלמי מנין לארבע כוסות מן התורה ר"י אמר כנגד והוצאתי והצלתי וגאלתי ולקחתי. והנה לכאורה יש שם עוד לשון א' של גאולה והוא והבאתי אתכם אל הארץ. רק יען כי מה שבאנו אל הארץ לא הי' ביאה ממש לדורות רק לפי שעה. וזה יתקיים לעתיד כשנזכה לגאולה שלימה וישלח לנו את אליהו הנביא. לרמז זה אנו קורין את כוס החמישי כוס של אליהו.
Vilna Gaon- In the book Toldot Esther it is written the reason why their is a custom to prepare another cup, and we call it 'Elijah's cup." This is in according with the Jerusalem Talmud which establishes the four cups according to the four redemptive phrases in Exodus 6 , and yet prima facie, there is another redemptive phrase there, "I shall bring you to the land." Indeed, even though we did go to the land, it was not really a possession of it, but only temporary. [E.g. this promise was never fullfilled.] This will only occur in the future upon the full redemption when Elijah the prophet will come. For this reason we call the fifth cup the cup of Elijah. (Translation Fred Klein)
Rabbi Menachem Kasher, Israel Passover Haggadah (New York: Shulsinger Press, 1950)
Featured above is the missing language of redemption, ships bringing in the exiles, the image of exodus superimposed on the 'wings of airplanes'.
Gershom Scholem, The Messaianic Idea in Judaism and Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality
Yosef Yerushalmi, ISRAEL, THE UNEXPECTED STATE: MESSIANISM, SECTARIANISM, AND THE ZIONIST REVOLUTION, in The Faith of Fallen Jews: Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi and the Writing of Jewish History, eds. David N. Myers and Alexander Kaye (USA: Brandeis, 2014), various excerpts
...And here is the fundamental novelty of the Zionist revolution—an independent Jewish state, not at the end of days but in the midst of time, in the midst of history. Israel is neither the kingdom of David and Solomon, nor is it the state of the Messiah. It is precisely the in-between state, the unanticipated and unexpected state to which traditional categories cannot be applied. One calamitous result is that the Israeli population has become polarized as never before, and the messianic syndrome lies at the heart of it…
…The result is that the same messianism that was such a crucial factor in the survival of the Jews through the ages is now capable of exacting a terrible new price. In some circles the focus of study is on those portions of the Talmud that deal with the details of the ancient Temple and its service, obviously in preparation for the imminent building of the third, messianic, Temple. But what of Al-Aksa and the Mosque of Omar which now stand on the Temple Mount? Presumably the Messiah will take care of that. But periodically, Israeli security forces uncover and arrest groups that actively plot to blow up the mosques. Do they not realize that should they succeed they could provoke a jihad against Israel from the entire vast Muslim world? Though I cannot prove it, I feel that they know this very well and perhaps even want to provoke it. Does not one strand in Jewish (and Christian) apocalyptic tradition emphasize that the messianic age will be preceded by terrible global wars, the so-called Wars of Gog and Magog?
In 1995 Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by a young law student, Yigal Amir. No, Amir was not insane, only absolutely convinced that he knew God’s will and was carrying it out. By a bitter irony, similar threats are now hurled against Ariel Sharon for his plan to withdraw from the Gaza strip and parts of the West Bank…
…After one of Israel’s reprisal raids against terrorists in Gaza in which, tragically, there were also civilian Palestinian casualties, one of my acquaintances said to me that Israel is no different from any fascist aggressor. By what criterion, I asked. “We judge Israel,” he replied, “not by the standards of the Middle East, but by what we would expect from a Scandinavian country.” Yet what do we know of how the Swedes or Danes would react if they were perpetually vulnerable to sworn enemies, not armies but invisible individuals that are difficult to identity as such, if in Stockholm or Copenhagen, as in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Haifa, you went to the market in the morning, or with friends to a café in the evening, and knew in the back of your mind that you might not return, that when you put your children on a bus they might be blown up by a suicide bomber? And yet Israelis try to maintain a normal life. The markets and cafés are filled, the buses run. No, I suggested, your standard is not Scandinavian but unconsciously messianic, with no room for Israel’s imperfections or effort to comprehend them. What else can explain the double standard constantly applied to Israel? From 1950 to 1988 the West Bank was annexed by Jordan, yet no one in the West condemned the occupation. I mention this not in order to justify the Israeli occupation, only to exemplify the double standard…
…So what is to be done? I am neither a political scientist nor a diplomat, and have no recipe to solve the problems of the Middle East. Perhaps they are insoluble. I am only personally convinced that the violent extremists on both sides are, at this moment, still a minority, that the majority of Israelis and Palestinians are tired of war and want peace, if it can be achieved with some measure of justice and equity by their leaders. As a mere historian I can really only offer the one thing I have learned from all my studies—that history is always open, never inevitable…
…I repeat again—history is always open, for better or for worse. Certainly conditions can become even worse. But it also means that no matter how grim the situation may appear at any time, it can always change for the better in unforeseen ways. Messianism is not the only possible form of human hope.
Amoz Oz, "Many Lights, Not One Light" in Dear Zealots: Letters from a Divided Land (trans. Jessica Cohen), (Houghlin Mittlin, 2018):78-80
A few years ago, my wife Nily and I were guests at the home of an old friend who is no longer with us. He was a great intellectual whose opinions were aligned with those of the Greater Israel movement. Nily, a talented musician, sane us a well-known Shabbat song based on a verse from the Psalms: “When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.” Our host’s eyes filled with tears, and he made a heartfelt plea” “We should cancel ‘Hatikvah’ and instead our national anthem should be ‘When the Lord brough back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream.’” I replied” “Absolutely not! If we are going to change the Zionist anthem it should be ‘We have not experienced a miracle, we have found no jug of oil,’ which is the exact antithesis of ‘When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion.”
Those who would blur or diminish the fact the modern “return to Zion,” the construction of Jewish towns and kibbutzim and cities, did not derive from the Messiah but in fact from a secular, pragmatic, modern political movement, threaten the Jewish identity cherished by me and others like me. They threaten to erase us. Not to mention the deeply insulting conviction of some of Rabbi Kook’s disciples who maintain that secular pioneers were no more than unwitting instruments of Divine supervision, and that everything they believed in, their entire self-determination, made no difference. They were nothing more than “the Messiahs’s donkey.” Such an insult is intolerable.
David Broza, Yeheyeh Tov - Performance in 2007 with Jackson Browne